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IDYLLS OF THE KING 



By ALFRED TENNYSON 



EDITED BY MARY F. WILLARD 

PRINCIPAL, A. H. BURLEY SCHOOL, CHICAGO 



NEW YORK • : • CINCINNATI • . • CHICAGO 
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 



TRASS'S 
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Copyright, 1900, 1904, 191 5, by 




American Book Company 




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INTRODUCTION. 



The Idylls of the King consists of twelve poems deal- 
ing with the life of King Arthur and his knights of the 
Round Table. The collection is prefaced by a dedication 
to Prince Albert, who had warmly admired the four Idylls 
published before his death, and is appropriately closed by 
an address to the Queen. 

The poems as a whole constitute a true English epic, or, 
perhaps more exactly, a true British epic, and the only one 
which English-speaking people can properly call their own ; 
for not only are they written in the English language, but 
they deal with British personages and their scenes are laid 
on British soil. The tales cluster about Arthur as their 
central figure, and are given a spiritual unity by the inti- 
mate association of the Holy Grail with the narrative. Like 
most of the other great epics of the world, the tales end in 
darkness and desolation, but we are not left without the 
thought of the dawn to follow the dark, the new sun which 
is to bring in the new year. 

Tennyson, in his " Dedication to the Queen," speaks of 
the poems as an allegory, for he says of them that they are 

" New-old, and shadowing Sense at war with Soul, 
Rather than that gray king, whose name, a ghost, 
Streams like a cloud, man-shaped, from mountain peak." 

But we must not press this allegorical interpretation too 
closely. In many of the best of the Idylls the allegory is 

5 



6 INTRODUCTION, 

lost sight of altogether, and in none is it really insisted upon 
throughout except in the " Passing of Arthur." Symbol- 
ism is more common, however, and adds a spiritual and 
imaginative touch to what was mere detail in the picture 
in the old legends from which Tennyson drew the subject- 
matter for his great poems. 

The Idylls stand easily first among Tennyson's poems in 
grace and elaboration of language and in human interest. 
Though not so fruitful to the thoughtful mind as " In 
Memoriam," they appeal to a far wider audience. In addi- 
tion to the technical perfection of the poetry in them, and 
the charm of an interesting story well told, there can be 
found in them a moral significance and insight fitted for 
the highest aspirations of mankind. The pictures which 
they present to us of society in the days of chivalry may 
not be historically true, but they are so magnificent that the 
reader is not inclined to criticise them. Stedman, in his 
" Victorian Poets," says of the Idylls : 

" It is the epic of chivalry, — the Christian ideal of chiv- 
alry which we have deduced from a barbaric source, — our 
conception of what knighthood should be rather than what 
it really was ; but so skilfully wrought of high imaginings, 
faery spells, fantastic legends, and mediaeval splendors, that 
the whole work, sufifused with the Tennysonian glamour of 
golden mist, seems like a chronicle illuminated by saintly 
hands, and often blazes with light like that which flashed 
from the holy wizard's book when the covers were un- 
clasped." 



INTRODUCTION. 



THE ORIGIN AND GROWTPI OF THE IDYLLS. 

The legends on which Tennyson founded his Idylls are 
of very ancient date. They were first told perhaps in Wales 
and Cornwall while our wild ancestors were crossing from 
their German homes to the greener shores of England ; for 
it is nearly fifteen hundred years since the beginnings of 
these stories were chanted by the Cymric bards to please 
their half-savage masters at their feasts. The people of 
Brittany, in north France, were of the same blood as the 
inhabitants of Wales and Cornwall, and the stories were 
told south of the English Channel as well as north, and it 
is said were first written in Brittany, though both the book 
and the name of the author are now unknown to us. One 
Geoffrey, a monk of Monmouth in Wales, was the first 
to put them into a literary form which has survived to 
our day. In 1147 he pubHshed his " Historia Britonum " 
(translated into early English by Layamon about 1205), a 
history of England in Latin, which incorporates such of the 
stories about Arthur as were known to Geoffrey. He takes 
no credit to himself for the tales, but states that he has 
merely translated them from the Welsh tongue into Latin, 
and that he obtained them from an ancient book which his 
friend the Archdeacon of Oxford had brought from Brit- 
tany. After this the tales were written into Norman French, 
then the language of the court and the one which the story 
writer must perforce adopt, by several writers, the most 
famous of whom is Walter Map, the brilliant, witty, and 
accomplished churchman of the court of Henry 11. It is 
to this clever and learned man that we really owe the stories 
in the form which Tennyson adopted later. He it was who 
christianized the tales, and gave them a spiritual unity by 
the introduction of the Grail legend. Last in the line be- 
fore Tennyson comes Sir Thomas Malory, who, at the re- 



8 INTRODUCTION. 

quest of Caxton, our first printer, translated the Norman 
French of Map, Wace, and De Boron into the fresh, idio- 
matic Enghsh of the time of Henry VII. The book was 
pubhshed in 1485 under the title of ** Morte Darthur," a 
name which Walter Map had used for the romance in which 
he told of the death of Arthur. Caxton wrote a preface for 
it and tells us how the book happened to be written. " After 
that I had accomplished and finished divers histories, . . . 
many noble and divers gentlemen of this realm of England 
came and demanded me many and ofttimes, wherefore that 
I have not do made and imprint the noble history of the 
Saint Greal, and of the most renowned Christian king, first 
and chief of the three best Christian, and worthy, King 
Arthur, which ought most to be remembered amongst us 
Englishmen tofore all other Christian kings. . . . The 
said noble gentlemen instantly required me to imprint the 
history of the said noble king and conqueror, King Arthur 
and of his knights, with the history of the Saint Greal, and 
of the death and ending of the said Arthur ; affirming that 
I ought rather to imprint his acts and noble feats, than of 
Godfrey of Boloine, . . . considering that he was a 
man born within this realm, and king and emperor of the 
same: and that there be in French divers and many noble 
volumes of his acts, and also of his knights. . . . Where- 
fore I have after the simple conning that God has sent to 
me, . . . enprised to imprint a book of the noble his- 
tories of the said King Arthur, and of certain of his 
knights, after a copy unto me delivered, which copy Sir 
Thomas Malorye did take out of certain books of French, 
and reduced it into English." 

The '" Morte Darthur " was a book of unbounded popu- 
larity in its own day and is still curious and interesting to 
readers. As a boy Tennyson doubtless pored over its mar- 
velous pages, and early in his literary career began to ex- 
periment with rendering fragments of the tales into poetic 



INTRODUCTION. 9 

form. In his second volume, 1832, was published the first 
version of the " Lady of Shalott," the first study of the 
subject which afterward had its final form in the perfect 
poem entitled '* Lancelot and Elaine." In the volume of 
1842 appeared ** Sir Galahad," '' Sir Lancelot and Queen 
Guinevere," and the " Morte d'Arthur, a Fragment," writ- 
ten as early as 1835 and afterward included in the " Pass- 
ing of Arthur." 

Fifteen years elapsed before the poet again touched the 
legends which had so fascinated his youth. At last, in 
July, 1859, appeared the volume in the preparation of which 
he had spent the preceding two years, containing the four 
poems " Enid " (afterward divided into two parts), " Viv- 
ien," " Elaine," and " Guinevere." From that time until 
1885, when " Balin and Balan," the last of the series, ap- 
peared, Tennyson was largely occupied in the composition 
of the remaining poems. In 1888 the " Idylls of the King " 
was published as complete, the poems being arranged in 
the order in which the poet wished them to stand. 

HISTORY IN THE ARTHURIAN LEGENDS. 

The only references to Arthur by a writer who can be 
called at all contemporaneous with his own time are made 
by Llywarch Hen, a bard attached to the court of Geraint, 
a warrior-chief of Devon. Arthur is simply mentioned as 
the commander of the armies of the chieftains and the con- 
ductor of the war. But the fact that no early bard whose 
writings have survived relates the story of Arthur's great 
exploits is no reason for discrediting entirely the tales. 
Still, so much of what is manifestly myth has attached it- 
self to the name of Arthur that it was long doubted whether 
there really was a King Arthur. Caxton mentions in his 
preface to " Morte Darthur " the fact that " divers men 
hold opinion that there be no such Arthur " ; but naively 



1 INTR OD UCTION. 

concludes that, since one may see his sepulchre at Glaston- 
bury and his Round Table at Winchester and other relics 
of him and his knights elsewhere in England, " there can 
no man reasonably gainsay but that there was a king of 
this land named Arthur." With this last conclusion we 
must agree, for the investigations of this century have re- 
sulted in fixing the reality of a British chieftain of such a 
name who lived probably about the beginning of the sixth 
century and was a leader of the Celtic tribes in the west of 
England against the Saxon invaders. He is supposed to 
have met his death in a great battle with the Saxons at 
Mount Badon, near Bath, in 520 a.d. Tradition says he 
was buried at Glastonbury, and according to several writers 
of the time his remains and those of Queen Guinevere were 
discovered there in the reign of Henry H. 

With regard to the history and allegory in the " Idylls 
of the King," Hallam Tennyson gives the following as 
Tennyson's own statement (" Life and Letters of Alfred, 
Lord Tennyson," Vol. i) : 

" How much of history we have in the story of Arthur 
is doubtful. Let not my readers press too hardly on de- 
tails whether for history or for allegory. Some think that 
King Arthur may be taken to typify conscience. He is 
anyhow meant to be a man who spent himself in the cause 
of honor, duty, and self-sacrifice, who felt and aspired with 
his nobler knights, though with a stronger and clearer con- 
science than any of them, ' reverencing his conscience as 
his king.' * There was no such perfect man since Adam,' 
as an old writer says, * Major prceteritis niajorque fitturis 
re gibus.* " 



INTR OD UCTIOJSr, 1 1 



CHRONOLOGY. 



1809, August 6. Alfred Tennyson is born at the Rectory, 

Somersby, Lincolnshire. 
1826. " Poems by Two Brothers " (Charles and Alfred 

Tennyson) is published at Louth. 

1828. Tennyson enters Trinity College, Cambridge. Here 

he becomes intimate with Arthur Henry Hallam. 

1829. Tennyson's poem, " Timbuctoo," takes the Chan- 

cellor's prize at Cambridge. 

1830. " Poems, Chiefly Lyrical," published. 

1 83 1. Tennyson's father dies, and the poet leaves Cam- 

bridge without taking a degree. 

1832. " Poems," published. 

1833. September 13. Hallam dies. 

1837. The Tennysons leave Somersby. The poet goes to 

live in lodgings in London. 
1842. " Poems," in two volumes ; a reprint of earlier work, 

with many new poems. 
1845. A royal pension of £200 is granted Tennyson. 
1847. *' The Princess." 

1850. On death of Wordsworth, Tennyson is appointed 
Poet-Laureate. Marries Emily Sellwood. " In 
Memoriam " appears. 
Tennyson removes to Farringford, Isle of Wight. 
*' Maud, and Other Poems." 
Four "Idylls of the King" ("Enid," "Vivien," 

" Elaine," and " Guinevere "). 
" Enoch Arden." 
Tennyson goes to live at Aldworth in Sussex, an 

estate which remains his home till his death. 
" The Coming of Arthur," " The Holy Grail," " Pel- 
leas and Etarre," and " The Passing of Arthur." 
" Gareth and Lynette," and " The Last Tournament." 



12 INTRODUCTIOr^. 

1875. " Queen Mary," a play. 

1877. " Harold," a play, never acted. 

1884. Tennyson becomes a peer. Baron of Aldworth 

and Farringford. "The Falcon," "The Cup," 
" Becket," plays. 

1885. " Balin and Balan," the last " Idyll of the King." 
1885, 1886, 1889. Latest poems are published. 

1892. "The Foresters," a play acted at Daly's in New 
York. Tennyson dies, October 6. He is buried 
in Westminster Abbey, October 12. 

V 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Malory: Le Morte Darthur (Globe Edition). 
Gurteen: The Arthurian Epic. 
Rhys : Studies in the Arthurian Legend. 
LiTTLEDALE \ Tcnnyson's Idylls of the King. 
Jones : Growth of the Idylls of the King. 
Brooke: Tennyson: His Art, and Relation to Modern Life. 
Stedman : Victorian Poets. 
Van Dyke : Poetry of Tennyson. 
Luce : Handbook to the Works of Tennyson. 
Hallam Tennyson : Alfred, Lord Tennyson : A Memoir. 
The Contemporary Review, May, 1873 (an article 
largely quoted in Rolfe's edition of the Idylls). 



CONTENTS 





PAGE 


The Coming of Arthur . 


. 15 


Gareth and Lynette 


. . . .34 


Lancelot and Elaine 


. 8^ 


The Holy Grail .... 


. 128 


Guinevere 


. . . . 158 


The Passing of Arthur . 


. 181 


Notes 


. 197 



" FOR HEREIN MAY BE SEEN NOBLE CHIVALRY, COURTESY. 
HUMANITY, FRIENDLINESS, HARDINESS, LOVE, FRIENDSHIP, 
COWARDICE, MURDER, HATE, VIRTUE, AND SIN. DO AFTER 
THE GOOD AND LEAVE THE EVIL, AND IT SHALL BRING TO 
YOU GOOD FAME AND RENOMMEE." 



IDYLLS OF THE KING. 



THE COMING OF ARTHUR AS TOLD IN THE 
ROMANCES. 

(Summarized from Malory's " Morte Darthur.") 

The old Celtic warrior Uther Pendragon lies dying. All 
his barons and Merlin are present, and to the surprise of 
the nobles Merlin asks him, ** Sir, shall your son Arthur be 
king, after your days, of this realm with all the appurte- 
nance ? " Uther replies, " I give him God's blessing and 
mine, and bid him pray for my soul, and righteously and 
worshipfully that he claim the crown." Thus for the first 
time the nobles learn that Uther has a son. 

But Arthur is only two years old. Merlin cannot bring 
forward a babe to rule the turbulent barons. So he bides 
his time and allows the great lords to struggle with each 
other, each striving to be king, while the realm stands in 
great jeopardy. At last young Arthur is old enough to 
reign, and Merlin has the Archbishop of Canterbury send 
for all the barons to come to London at Christmastide 
when they are to be shown by a miracle who is the true 
king of the realm. And when they are assembled " there 
was seen in the churchyard against the high altar a great 
stone, four square, like unto a marble stone, and in the 
midst thereof was like an anvil of steel, a foot on high, and 
therein stack a fair sword naked by the point, and letters 
there were written in gold about the sword that said thus: 

15 



1 6 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is 
rightwise king born of all England," None can stir the 
sword save Arthur. He easily pulls it out again and again, 
and is therefore crowned king by Saint Dubric at the feast 
of Pentecost. 

The disappointed barons and kings band together and 
refuse to take Arthur as their king. In many battles the 
young king by the aid of Merlin puts their forces to flight, 
and they are finally forced to submit. Arthur's valiant 
deeds cause Leodegrance, king of Cameliard, to call on him 
for help against his foes. These Arthur soon vanquishes. 
And then " Arthur had the first sight of Guenever, the 
king's daughter of Cameliard, and ever after he loved her." 

Doubts as to his own birth now begin to assail Arthur 
himself. He asks Sir Hector, his foster-father, about his 
parents, and Sir Hector assures him he is the son of Uther 
Pendragon and Igraine. Still in doubt, he sends Merlin 
for Igraine, who then acknowledges Arthur as her son, 
whom she had given up to Merlin as soon as he was born, 
according to Uther Pendragon's command. From this 
time on no shadow of doubt can remain as to Arthur's 
being the true heir of the throne. All opposition to him as 
king is now at an end. 

In accordance with the advice of his barons, Arthur 
wishes to take a wife. Merlin is therefore despatched to 
ask the hand of Guenever from Leodegrance. An alliance 
with King Arthur is an honor eagerly received, and Le- 
odegrance sends Guenever back with Merlin, sending also 
the Round Table, which Uther Pendragon had given him, 
and one hundred knights. 



THE COMING OF ARTHUR. 



Leodogran, the King of Cameliard, 
Had one fair daughter, and none other child; 
And she was fairest of all flesh on earth, 
Guinevere, and in her his one delight. 

For many a petty king ere Arthur came 5: 

Ruled in this isle, and ever waging war 
Each upon other, wasted all the land ; 
And still from time to time the heathen host 
Swarm'd overseas, and harried what was left. 
And so there grew great tracts of wilderness, 10 

Wherein the beast was ever more and more. 
But man was less and less, till Arthur came. 
For first Aurelius lived and fought and died. 
And after him King Uther fought and died. 
But either fail'd to make the kingdom one. 15 

And after these King Arthur for a space. 
And thro' the puissance of his Table Round, -, 
Drew all their petty princedoms under him, 
Their king and head, and made a realm, and reign'd. 

And thus the land of Cameliard was waste, 20 

Thick with wet woods, and many a beast therein. 
And none or few to scare or chase the beast ; 
So that wild dog, and wolf and boar and bear 
Came night and day, and rooted in the fields, 
And wallow'd in the gardens of the King. 25 

17 



1 8 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

And ever and anon the wolf would steal 

The children and devour, but now and then, 

Her own brood lost or dead, lent her fierce teat 

To human sucklings; and the children housed 

In her foul den, there at their meat would growl, 30 

And mock their foster-mother on four feet, 

Till, straighten'd, they grew up to wolf-like men. 

Worse than the wolves. And King Leodogran 

Groan'd for the Roman legions here again. 

And Csesar's eagle: then his brother king, 35 

Urien, assail'd him: last a heathen horde. 

Reddening the sun with smoke and earth with blood. 

And on the spike that split the mother's heart 

Spitting the child, brake on him, till, amaz'd, 

He knew not whither he should turn for aid. 40 

But — for he heard of Arthur newly crown'd, 
Tho' not without an uproar made by those 
Who cried, " He is not Uther's son " — the King 
Sent to him, saying, " Arise, and help us thou ! 
For here between the man and beast we die." 45 

And Arthur yet had done no deed of arms. 
But heard the call, and came, and Guinevere 
Stood by the castle walls to watch him pass ; 
But since he neither wore on helm or shield 
The golden symbol of his kinglihood, 50 

But rode a simple knight among his knights, 
And many of these in richer arms than he, 
She saw him not, or mark'd not, if she saw. 
One among many, tho' his face was bare. 
But Arthur, looking downward as he past, 5$ 

Felt the light of her eyes into his life 
Smite on the sudden, yet rode on, and pitch'd 
His tents beside the forest. Then he drave 



THE COMING OF ARTHUR. I9 

The heathen; after, slew the beast, and fell'd 

The forest, letting in the sun, and made 60 

Broad pathways for the hunter and the knight, 

And so return'd. 

For while he linger'd there, 
A doubt that ever smoulder'd in the hearts 
Of those great Lords and Barons of his realm 
Flash'd forth and into war: for most of these, 65 

Colleaguing with a score of petty kings. 
Made head against him, crying, " Who is he 
That he should rule us? who hath proven him 
King Uther's son ? for lo ! we look at him, 
And find nor face nor bearing, limbs nor voice, 70 

Are Hke to those of Uther whom we knew. 
This is the son of Gorlois, not the King; 
This is the son of Anton, not the King." 

And Arthur, passing thence to battle, felt 
Travail, and throes and agonies of the life, 75 

Desiring to be join'd with Guinevere ; 
And thinking as he rode, '* Her father said 
That there between the man and beast they die. 
Shall I not lift her from this land of beasts 
Up to my throne, and side by side with me ? 80 

What happiness to reign a lonely king, 
Vext — O ye stars that shudder over me, 

earth that soundest hollow under me, 

Vext with waste dreams? for saving I be join'd 

To her that is the fairest under heaven, 85 

1 seem as nothing in the mighty world, 
And cannot will my will, nor work my work 
Wholly, nor make myself in mine own realm 
Victor and lord. But were I join'd with her, 

Then might we live together as one life, 90 



20 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

And reigning with one will in everything 
Have power on this dark land to lighten it, 
And power on this dead world to make it live." 

Thereafter — as he speaks who tells the tale — 
When Arthur reach'd a field-of-battle bright 95 

With pitch'd pavilions of his foe, the world 
Was all so clear about him, that he saw 
The smallest rock far on the faintest hill, 
And even in high day the morning star. 
So when the King had set his banner broad, ICK) 

At once from either side, with trumpet-blast, 
And shouts, and clarions shrilling unto blood. 
The long-lanced battle let their horses run. 
And now the barons and the kings prevail'd, 
And now the King, as here and there that war 105 

Went swaying; but the Powers who walk the world 
Made lightnings and great thunders over him, 
And dazed all eyes, till Arthur by main might. 
And mightier of his hands with every blow. 
And leading all his knighthood threw the kings no 

Carados, Urien, Cradlemont of Wales, 
Claudias, and Clariance of Northumberland, 
The King Brandagoras of Latangor, 
With Anguisant of Erin, Morganore, 

And Lot of Orkney. Then, before a voice 115 

As dreadful as the shout of one who sees 
To one who sins, and deems himself alone 
And all the world asleep, they swerved and brake 
Flying, and Arthur call'd to stay~the brands 
That hack'd among the flyers, " Ho ! they yield ! " 120 

So like a painted battle the war stood 
Silenced, the living quiet as the dead. 
And in the heart of x\rthur joy was lord. 
He laugh'd upon his warrior whom he loved 



THE COMING OF ARTHUR. 21 

And honor 'd most. " Thou dost not doubt me King, 125 

So well thine arm hath wrought for me to-day." 

" Sir and my liege," he cried, " the fire of God 

Descends upon thee in the battle-field: 

I know thee for my King ! " Whereat the two. 

For each had warded either in the fight, 130 

Svvare on the field of death a deathless love. 

And Arthur said, " Man's word is God in man : 

Let chance what will, I trust thee to the death." 

Then quickly from the foughten field he sent 
Ulfius, and Brastias, and Bedivere, 135 

His new-made knights, to King Leodogran, 
Saying, "If I in aught have served thee well. 
Give me thy daughter Guinevere to wife." 

Whom when he heard, Leodogran in heart 
Debating — " How should I that am a king, 140 

However much he holp me at my need, 
Give my one daughter saving to a king, 
And a king's son?" — lifted his voice, and call'd 
A hoary man, his chamberlain, to whom 
He trusted all things, and of him required 145 

His counsel: " Knowest thou aught of Arthur's birth? " 

Then spake the hoary chamberlain and said, 
" Sir King, there be but two old men that know : 
And each is twice as old as I ; and one 
Is Merlin, the wise man that ever served 150 

King Uther thro' his magic art; and one 
Is Merlin's master (so they call him) Bleys, 
Who taught him magic ; but the scholar ran 
Before the master, and so far, that Bleys 
Laid magic by, and sat him down, and wrote 155 

All things and whatsoever Merlin did ^ 



22 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

In one great annal-book, where after-years 
Will learn the secret of our Arthur's birth." 

To whom the King Leodogran replied, 
" O friend, had I been holpen half as well i6o 

By this King Arthur as by thee to-day, 
Then beast and man had had their share of me: 
But summon here before us yet once more 
Ulfius, and Brastias, and Bedivere." 

Then, when they came before him, the King said, 165 
" I have seen the cuckoo chased by lesser fowl, 
And reason in the chase: but wherefore now 
Do these your lords stir up the heat of war, 
Some calling Arthur born of Gorlois, 
Others of Anton? Tell me, ye yourselves, 17- 

Hold ye this Arthur for King Uther's son?" 

And Ulfius and Brastias answer'd, " Ay.'* 
Then Bedivere, the first of all his knights 
Knighted by Arthur at his crowning, spake — 
For bold in heart and act and word was he, 17 

Whenever slander breathed against the King — 

" Sir, there be many rumors on this head : 
For there be those who hate him in their hearts. 
Call him baseborn, and since his ways are sweet, 
And theirs are bestial, hold him less than man: 180 

And there be those who deem him more than man, 
And dream he dropt from heaven : but my belief 
In all this matter — so ye care to learn — 
Sir, for ye knov/ that in King Uther's time 
The prince and warrior Gorlois, he that held 185 

Tintagil castle by the Cornish sea. 
Was wedded with a winsome wife, Ygerne: 



THE COMING OF ARTHUR. 2} 

And daughters had she borne him, one whereof, 

Lot's wife, the Queen of Orkney, Bellicent, 

Hath ever like a loyal sister cleaved 190 

To Arthur, — but a son she had not borne. 

And Uther cast upon her eyes of love: 

But she, a stainless wife to Gorlois, 

So loathed the bright dishonor of his love, 

That Gorlois and King Uther went to war: 195 

And overthrown was Gorlois and slain. 

Then Uther in his wrath and heat besieged 

Ygerne within Tintagil, where her men. 

Seeing the mighty swarm about their walls, 

Left her and fled, and Uther enter'd in, 200 

And there was none to call to but himself. 

So, compass'd by the power of the King, 

Enforced she was to wed him in her tears, 

And with a shameful swiftness : afterward. 

Not many moons. King Uther died himself, 205 

Moaning and wailing for an heir to rule 

After him, lest the realm should go to wrack. 

And that same night, the night of the new year, 

By reason of the bitterness and grief 

That vext his mother, all before his time 210 

Was Arthur born, and all as soon as born 

Deliver'd at a secret postern-gate 

To Merlin, to be holden far apart 

Until his hour should come ; because the lords 

Of that fierce day were as the lords of this, 215 

Wild beasts, and surely would have torn the child 

Piecemeal among them, had they known ; for each 

But sought to rule for his own self and hand, 

And many hated Uther for the sake 

Of Gorlois. Wherefore Merlin took the child, 220 

And gave him to Sir Anton, an old knight 

And ancient friend of Uther; and his wife 



24 IDYLLS OF THE KING, 

Nursed the young prince, and rear'd him with her own ; 

And no man knew. And ever since the lords 

Have foughten Hke wild beasts among themselves, 225 

So that the realm has gone to wrack : but now, 

This year, when Merlin (for his hour had come) 

Brought Arthur forth, and set him in the hall, 

Proclaiming, ' Here is Uther's heir, your king,* 

A hundred voices cried, * Away with him ! 230 

No king of ours ! A son of Gorlois he. 

Or else the child of Anton, and no king, 

Or else baseborn/ Yet Merlin thro' his craft, 

And while the people clamor'd for a king, 

Had Arthur crown'd ; but after, the great lords 235 

Banded, and so brake out in open war." 

Then while the King debated with himself 

If Arthur were the child of shamefulness. 

Or born the son of Gorlois, after death. 

Or Uther's son, and born before his time, 240 

Or whether there were truth in anything 

Said by these three, there came to Cameliard, 

With Gawain and young Modred, her two sons. 

Lot's wife, the Queen of Orkney, Bellicent; 

Whom as he could, not as he would, the King 245 

Made feast for, saying, as they sat at meat : 

" A doubtful throne is ice on summer seas. 
Ye come from Arthur's court. Victor his men 
Report him ! Yea, but ye — think ye this king — 
So many those that hate him, and so strong, 250 

So few his knights, however brave they be^ 
Hath body enow to hold his foemen down?" 

" O King," she cried, *' and I will tell thee : few. 
Few, but all brave, all of one mind with him; 



THE COMING OF ARTHUR. 25 

For I was near him when the savage yells 255 

Of Uther's peerage died, and Arthur sat 

Crown'd on the dais, and his warriors cried, 

'Be thou the king, and we will work thy will 

Who love thee.' Then the King in low deep tones, 

And simple words of great authority, 260 

Bound them by so strait vows to his own self, 

That when they rose, knighted from kneeling, some 

Were pale as at the passing of a ghost. 

Some flush'd, and others dazed, as one who wakes 

Half-blinded at the coming of a light. 265 

"But when he spake and cheer'd his Table Round 
With large, divine and comfortable words, 
Beyond my tongue to tell thee — I beheld 
From eye to eye thro' all their Order flash 
A momentary likeness of the King: 270 

And ere it left their faces, thro' the cross 
And those around it and the Crucified, 
Down from the casement over Arthur, smote 
Flame-color, vert, and azure, in three rays. 
One falUng upon each of three fair queens, 275 

Who stood in silence near his throne, the friends 
Of Arthur, gazing on him, tall, with bright 
Sweet faces, who will help him at his need. 

"And there I saw mage Merlin, whose vast wit 
And hundred winters are but as the hands 280 

Of loyal vassals toiUng for their Uege. 

"And near him stood the Lady of the Lake, 
Who knows a subtler magic than his own — 
Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful. 
She gave the King his huge cross-hilted sword, 285 

W^hereby to drive the heathen out: a mist 



26 IDYLLS OF THE KING. '\y:. 

Of incense curl'd about her, and her face 

Wellnigh was hidden in the minster gloom , 

But there was heard among the holy hymns 

A voice as of the waters, for she dwells 290 

Down in a deep ; calm, whatsoever storms 

May shake the world, and when the surface rolls, 

Hath power to walk the waters like our Lord. 

" There likewise I beheld Excalibur 
Before him at his crowning borne, the sword 295 

That rose from out the bosom of the lake, 
And Arthur row'd across and took it — rich 
With jewels, elfin Urim, on the hilt, 
Bewildering heart and eye — the blade so bright 
That men are blinded by it — on one side, 300 

Graven in the oldest tongue of all this world, 
' Take me/ but turn the blade and ye shall see, 
And written in the speech ye speak yourself, 
' Cast me away ! ' i\nd sad was Arthur's face 
Taking it, but old Merlin counsell'd him, 305 

* Take thou and strike ! the time to cast away 
Is yet far-off.' So this great brand the king 
Took, and by this will beat his foemen down." 

Thereat Leodogran rejoiced, but thought 
To sift his doubtings to the last, and ask'd, 310 

Fixing full eyes of question on her face, 
" The swallow and the swift are near akin, 
But thou art closer to this noble prince. 
Being his own dear sister;" and she said, 
" Daughter of Gorlois and Ygerne am I ; " 315 

"And therefore Arthur's sister?" ask'd the King. 
She answer'd, " These be secret things," and sign'd 
To those two sons to pass and let them be. 
And Gawain went, and breaking into song 



THE COMING OF ARTHUR. 2/ 

Sprang- out, and foUow'd by his flying hair 320 

Ran Hke a colt, and leapt at all he saw : 
But Modred laid his ear beside the doors, 
And there half heard ; the same that afterward 
Struck for the throne, and striking found his doom. 

And then the Queen made answer, *' What know I ? 325 
For dark my mother was in eyes and hair. 
And dark in hair and eyes am I ; and dark 
Was Gorlois, yea and dark was Uther too, 
Wellnigh to blackness ; but this King is fair 
Beyond the race of Britons and of men. 330 

Moreover, always in my mind I hear 
A cry from out the dawning of my life, 
A mother weeping, and I hear her say, 
' O that ye had some brother, pretty one. 
To guard thee on the rough ways of the world.' " 335 

" Ay," said the King, " and hear ye such a cry ? 
But when did Arthur chance upon thee first ? " 

" O King! " she cried, " and T will tell thee true : 
He found me when yet a little maid : 

Beaten I had been for a little fault 340 

Whereof I was not guilty; and out I ran 
And flung myself down on a bank of heath. 
And hated this fair world and all therein, 
And wept and wish'd that I were dead ; and he — 
I know not whether of himself he came, 345 

Or brought by Merlin, who, they say, can walk 
Unseen at pleasure — he was at my side. 
And spake sweet words, and comforted my heart. 
And dried my tears, being a child with me. 
And many a time he came, and evermore 350 

As I grew greater grew with me; and sad 



28 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

At times he seem'cl, and sad with him was I, 

Stern too at times, and then I loved him not. 

But sweet again, and then I loved him well. 

And now of late I see him less and less, 355 

But those first days had golden hours for me. 

For then I surely thought he would be king. 

"But let me tell thee now another tale: 
For Bleys, our Merlin's master, as they say. 
Died but of late, and sent his cry to me, 360 

To hear him speak before he left his life. 
Shrunk like a fairy changeling lay the mage; 
And when I enter'd told me that himself 
And Merlin ever served about the King, 
Uther, before he died ; and on the night 365 

When Uther in Tintagil past away 
Moaning and wailing for an heir, the two 
Left the still King, and passing forth to breathe. 
Then from the castle gateway by the chasm 
Descending thro' the dismal night — a night 370 

In which the bounds of heaven and earth were lost — 
Beheld, so high upon the dreary deeps 
It seem'd in heaven, a ship, the shape thereof 
A dragon wing'd, and all from stem to stern 
Bright with a shining people on the decks, 375 

And gone as soon as seen. And then the two 
Dropt to the cove, and watch'd the great sea fall, 
Wave after wave, each mightier than the last, 
Till last, a ninth one, gathering half the deep 
And full of voices, slowly rose and plunged 380 

Roaring, and all the wave was in a flame : 
And down the wave and in the flame was borne 
A naked babe, and rode to Merlin's feet, 
Who stoopt and caught the babe, and cried * The King ! 
Here is an heir for Uther ! ' And the fringe 385 



THE COMING OF ARTHUR. 29 

Of that great breaker, sweeping up the strand, 

Lash'd at the wizard as he spake the word. 

And all at once all round him rose in fire,* 

So that the child and he were clothed in fire. 

And presently thereafter follow'd calm, 390 

Free sky and stars : * And this same child,' he said, 

* Is he who reigns : nor could I part in peace 

Till this were told.' And saying this the seer 

Went thro' the strait and dreadful pass of death, 

Not ever to be question'd any more 395 

Save on the further side ; but when I met 

Merlin, and ask'd him if these things were truth — 

The shining dragon and the naked child 

Descending in the glory of the seas — 

He laugh'd as is his wont, and answer'd me 400 

In riddling triplets of old time, and said: 

'* ' Rain, rain, and sun ! a rainbow in the sky ! 
A young man will be wiser by and by ; 
An old man's wit may wander ere he die. 

" * Rain, rain, and sun ! a rainbow on the lea ! 405 

And truth is this to me, and that to thee; 
And truth or clothed or naked let it be. 

" * Rain, sun, and rain ! and the free blossom blows : 
Sun, rain, and sun ! and where is he who knows ? 
From the great deep to the great deep he goes.' 410 

" So Merlin riddling anger'd me ; but thou 
Fear not to give this King thine only child, 
Guinevere : so great bards of him will sing 
Hereafter ; and dark sayings from of old 
Ranging and ringing thro' the minds of men, 415 

And echo'd by old folk beside their fires 
For comfort after their wage-work is done, 



30 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Speak of the King ; and Merlin in our time 

Hath spoken also, not in jest, and sworn 

Tho' men may WDund him that he will not die, 420 

But pass, again to come ; and then or now 

Utterly smite the heathen underfoot. 

Till these and all men hail him for their king." 

She spake and King Leodogran rejoiced, 
But musing " Shall I answer yea or nay ? " 425 

Doubted and drowsed, nodded and slept, and saw. 
Dreaming, a slope of land that ever grew. 
Field after field, up to a height, the peak 
Haze-hidden, and thereon a phantom king, 
Now looming, and now lost ; and on the slope 430 

The sword rose, and hind fell, the herd was driven, 
Fire glimpsed ; and all the land from roof and rick, 
In drifts of smoke before a rolling wind. 
Streamed to the peak, and mingled with the haze 
And made it thicker ; while the phantom king 435 

Sent out at times a voice ; and here or there 
Stood one who pointed toward the voice, the rest 
Slew on and burnt, crying, '' No king of ours, 
No son of Uther, and no king of ours ; " 
Till with a wink his dream was changed, the haze 440 

Descended, and the solid earth became 
As nothing, but the king stood out in heaven, 
Crown'd. And Leodogran awoke, and sent 
Ulfius, and Brastias, and Bedivere, 
Back to the court of Arthur answering yea. 445 

Then Arthur charged his warrior whom he loved 
And honor'd most, Sir Lancelot, to ride forth 
And bring the Queen ; — and watch'd him from the gates ; 
And Lancelot past away among the flowers, 
(For then was latter April) and return'd 450 



THE COMING OF ARTHUR. 3 1 

Among the flowers, in May, with Guinevere. 

To whom arrived, by Dubric the high saint, 

Chief of the church in Britain, and before 

The stateHest of her altar-shrines, the King 

That morn was married, while in stainless white, 455 

The fair beginners of a nobler time, 

And glorying in their vows and him, his knights 

Stood round him, and rejoicing in his joy. 

Far shone the fields of May thro' open door. 

The sacred altar blossom'd white with May, 460 

The Sun of May descended on their King, 

They gazed on all earth's beauty in their Queen, 

Roll'd incense, and there past along the hymns 

A voice as of the waters, while the two 

Sware at the shrine of Christ a deathless love : 465 

And Arthur said, " Behold, thy doom is mine. 

Let chance what will, I love thee to the death ! " 

To whom the Queen replied with drooping eyes, 

" King and my lord, I love thee to the death ! " 

And holy Dubric spread his hands and spake, 470 

** Reign ye, and live and love, and make the world 

Other, and may thy Queen be one with thee. 

And all this Order of thy Table Round 

Fulfil the boundless purpose of their King ! " 

So Dubric said ; but when they left the shrine 475 

Great Lords from Rome before the portal stood, 
In scornful stillness gazing as they past ; 
Then while they paced a city all on fire 
With sun and cloth of gold, the trumpets blew. 
And Arthur's knighthood sang before the King : — 480 

" Blow trumpet, for the world is white with Ma}' ; 
Blow trumpet, the long night hath roll'd away ! 
Blow thro' the living world — ' Let the King reign.' 



32 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

*• Shall Rome or heathen rule in Arthur's realm ? 
Flash brand and lance, fall battleaxe upon helm, 485 

Fall battleaxe, and flash brand ! Let the King reign. 

" Strike for the King and live ! his knights have heard 
That God hath told the King a secret word. 
Fall battleaxe, and flash brand ! Let the King reign. 

" Blow trumpet ! he will lift us from the dust. 490 

Blow trumpet ! live the strength and die the lust ! 
Clang battleaxe, and clash brand ! Let the King reign. 

" Strike for the King and die ! and if thou diest, 
The King is King, and ever wills the highest. 
Clang battleaxe, and clash brand ! Let the King reign. 495 

" Blow, for our Sun is mighty in his May ! 
Blow, for our Sun is mightier day by day ! 
Clang battleaxe, and clash brand ! Let the King reign. 

" The King will follow Christ, and we the King- 
In whom high God hath breathed a secret thing. 500 
Fall battleaxe, and flash brand ! Let the King reign." 

So sang the knighthood, moving to their hall. 
There at the banquet those great Lords from Rome, 
The slowly-fading mistress of the world. 
Strode in, and claim'd their tribute as of yore. 505 

But Arthur spake, " Behold, for these have sworn 
To wage my wars, and worship me their King ; 
The old order changeth, yielding place to new ; 
And we that fight for our fair father Christ, 
Seeing that ye be grown too weak and old 510 



THE COMING OF ARTHUR, 33 

To drive the heathen from your Roman wall, 
No tribute will we pay : " so those great lords 
Drew back in wrath, and Arthur strove with Rome. 

And Arthur and his knighthood for a space 
Were all one will, and thro' that strength the King 515 

Drew in the petty princedoms under him. 
Fought, and in twelve great battles overcame 
The heathen hordes, and made a realm and reign'd. 



GARETH AND LYNETTE IN THE ROMANCE. 

The story of Gareth is told by Malory in the seventh 
book of the Morte Darthur. The source from which Mal- 
ory obtained the tale is as yet undetermined, though sev- 
eral of the early romances have certain points of resem- 
blance to the Morte Darthur story. The first four hundred 
and thirty lines of the idyll are original with Tennyson, and 
supply what is lacking in Malory's story, a motive for 
Gareth's disguise. 

The poem from that point to the end follows closely the 
main lines of the romance ; but many of the details are 
changed in order to carry out the general allegorical drift of 
the poem, the warfare of a man's soul as it fares through 
life with the sins ever ready to beset him. Thus in the ro- 
mance Gareth defeats seven knights in his adventures be- 
fore he can deliver the lady in the Castle Perilous : two at a 
river crossing, the Black Knight, the Green Knight, the 
Red Knight, Sir Persant of Inde (also called the Blue 
Knight), and the Red Knight of the Red Lawn. Tennyson 
has but four combats, and they are with knights whose 
names indicate their allegorical significance. 

The combat between Gareth and Lancelot occurs just as 
Gareth is starting on his quest, according to Malory ; and 
after the encounter is over Sir Lancelot knights Gareth, 
who then tells him his true name. He is made known to 
Arthur only after the quest is finished. 

Tennyson ends the story abruptly with the freeing of the 
Lady Lyonors ; but in the romance Gareth must still ac- 
complish many adventures before he wins his lady, who de- 

34 



GARETH AND LYNETTE IN THE ROMANCE, 35 

clares that she will not even allow him to enter her castle 
for a twelvemonth. Her brother follows him and steals 
from him his dwarf, who is beguiled to tell Gareth's name 
and Hneage. Gareth returns in great wrath to recover the 
dwarf. Due apologies are made, and Gareth remains in the 
castle. Here during the night he has an encounter with a 
strange knight whose head he strikes off. But the damsel 
Linet anoints the head with an ointment, and it sticks as 
fast to the shoulders as ever. The next night the same 
knight attacks him again, and again Gareth strikes his head 
off, and this time cuts it into a hundred pieces. But Linet's 
art is equal to the task, and the pieces are fitted together 
successfully once more. The knights, overcome by Gareth, 
come to King Arthur at Carlion on the feast of the Pente- 
cost to yield themselves as vanquished by the unknown Sir 
Beaumains. Arthur, still ignorant of the identity of his 
quondam kitchen-knave, promises to make them knights of 
his Table Round as soon as Sir Beaumains can be found. 

At this opportune moment his sister Bellicent, the Queen 
of Orkney, arrives to inquire of the king what has become 
of her young son, Sir Gareth. She has heard a report that 
Arthur has made him his scullion, and in great indignation 
comes to investigate it. The surprise of the king and of 
Gareth's brother Gawaine when they discover who Sir Beau- 
mains really is, appeases the angry queen ; and at once every 
effort is put forth to find him. Arthur appeals to Dame 
Liones, and at his request she calls a tourney at her castle, 
where Sir Beaumains appears and distinguishes himself ii> 
many deeds of great valor, winning honor over all by the aid 
of a magic ring Dame Liones had given him. But after this 
he again rides away in search of further adventures to ap- 
pease the desire of his lady love for his renown. He jousts 
with several more knights, and at length King Arthur inter- 
cedes in his behalf with Dame Liones, who agrees to marry 



36 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

him at Michaelmas, So, in the midst of great festivities, with 
plenty of eating and drinking and jousting, the marriage is 
consummated. ''Thus endeth this tale of syr Gareth of Orkenye 
that wedded Dame Lyones of the castel peryllous. And also 
syr Gaheris wedded her syster dame Lynet, that was called the 
damoysel saueage." 



GARETH AND LYNETTE. 



The last tall son of Lot and Bellicent, 
And tallest, Gareth, in a showerful spring 
Stared at the spate. A slender-shafted Pine 
Lost footing, fell, and so was whirl'd away. 
" How he went down," said Gareth, " as a false knight 
Or evil king before my lance if lance 
Were mine to use — O senseless cataract, 
Bearing all down in thy precipitancy — 
And yet thou art but swollen with cold snows 
And mine is living blood: thou dost His will, 10 

The Maker's, and not knowest, and I that know, 
Have strength and wit, in my good mother's hall 
Linger with vacillating obedience, 
Prison'd, and kept and coax'd and whistled to — 
Since the good mother holds me still a child ! 
Good mother is bad mother unto me ! 
A worse were better ; yet no worse would 1. 
Heaven yield her for it, but in me put force 
To weary her ears with one continuous prayer. 
Until she let me fly discaged to sweep 20 

In ever-highering eagle-circles up 
To the great Sun of Glory, and thence swoop 
Down upon all things base, and dash them dead, 
A knight of Arthur, working out his will, 
To cleanse the world. Why, Gawain, when he came 
With Modred hither in the summertime, 
Ask'd me to tilt with him, the proven knight. 
Modred for want of worthier was the judge. 

37 



38 IDYLLS OF THE KING, 

Then I so shook him in the saddle, he said, 

* Thou hast half prevail'd against me,' said so — he— 
Tho' Modred biting his thin lips was mute. 

For he is alway sullen : what care I ? " 

And Gareth went, and hovering round her chair 
Ask'd, " Mother, tho' ye count me still the child, 
Sweet mother, do ye love the child? " She laugh'd, 
" Thou art but a wild-goose to question it." 
" Then, mother, an ye love the child," he said, 
" Being a goose and rather tame than wild, 
Hear the child's story." " Yea, my well-beloved, 
An 'twere but of the goose and golden eggs." 

And Gareth answer'd her with kindling eyes, 
" Nay, nay, good mother, but this ^^'g of mine 
Was finer gold than any goose can lay ; 
For this an Eagle, a royal Eagle, laid 
Almost beyond eye-reach, on such a palm 
As glitters gilded in thy Book of Hours. , 

And there was ever haunting round the palm 
A lusty youth, but poor, who often saw 
The splendour sparkling from aloft, and thought 

* An I could climb and lay my hand upon it, 
Then were I wealthier than a leash of kings.' 
But ever when he reach'd a hand to climb, 

One, that had loved him from his childhood, caught 
And stay'd him, ' Climb not lest thou break thy neck, 
I charge thee by my love,' and so the boy, 
Sweet mother, neither clomb, nor brake his neck, 
But brake his very heart in pining for it. 
And past away." 

To whom the mother said, 
" True love, sweet son, had risk'd himself and climb'd, 
And handed down the golden treasure to him." 



GARETH AND LYNETTE. 39 

And Gareth answer'd her with kindhng eyes, 
" Gold ? said I gold ? — ay t4ien, why he, or she. 
Or whosoe'er it was, or half the world 
Had ventured — had the thing I spake of been 
Mere gold — but this was all of that true steel, 
Whereof they forged the brand Excalibur, 
And lightnings play'd about it in the storm, 
And all the little fowl were flurried at it, 
And there were cries and clashings in the nest. 
That sent him from his senses : let me go." ^Q 

Then Bellicent bemoan'd herself and said, 
*' Hast thou no pity upon my loneliness? 
Lo, where thy father Lot beside the hearth 
Lies like a log, and all but smoulder'd out ! 
For ever since when traitor to the King 
He fought against him in the Barons' war. 
And Arthur gave him back his territory. 
His age hath slowly droopt, and now lies there 
A yet-warm corpse, and yet unburiable. 
No more; nor sees, nor hears, nor speaks, nor knows. 80 
And both thy brethren are in Arthur's hall, 
Albeit neither loved with that full love 
I feel for thee, nor worthy such a love : 
Stay therefore thou ; red berries charm the bird, 
And thee, mine innocent, the jousts, the wars. 
Who never knewest iinger-ache, nor pang 
Of wrench'd or broken limb — an often chance 
In those brain-stunning shocks, and tourney-falls, 
Frights to my heart ; but stay : follow the deer 
By these tall firs and our fast-falling burns ; 90 

So make thy manhood mightier day by day ; 
Sweet is the chase : and I will seek thee out 
Some comfortable bride and fair, to grace 
Thy climbing life, and cherish my prone year. 



40 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Till falling into Lot's forgetfulness 

I know not thee, myself, nor anything. 

Stay, my best son ! ye are yet more boy than man." 

Then Gareth, " An ye hold me yet for child. 
Hear yet once more the story of the child. 
For, mother, there was once a King, like ours. lOO 

The prince his heir, when tall and marriageable, 
Ask'd for a bride ; and thereupon the King 
Set two before him. One was fair, strong, arm'd — 
But to be won by force — and many men 
Desired her; one, good lack, no man desired. 
And these were the conditions of the King: 
That save he won the first by force, he needs 
Must wed that other, whom no man desired, 
A red-faced bride who knew herself so vile, 
That evermore she long'd to hide herself, 1 10 

Nor fronted man or woman, eye to eye — 
Yea — some she cleaved to, but they died of her. 
And one — they call'd her Fame ; and one, — O Mother, 
How can ye keep me tether'd to you — Shame. 
Man am I grown, a man's work must I do. 
Fol-low the deer ? follow the Christ, the King, 
Live pure, speak true, right wrong, follow the King — 
Else, wherefore born ? " 

To whom the mother said, 
" Sweet son, for there be many who deem him not, 
Or will not deem him, wholly proven King — 120 

Albeit in mine bwn heart I knew him King, 
When I was frequent with him in my youth, 
And heard him Kingly speak, and doubted him 
No more than he, himself ; but felt him mine. 
Of closest kin to me : yet — wilt thou leave 
Thine easeful biding here, and risk thine all. 



GARETH AND LYNETTE. 41 

Life, limbs, for one that is not proven King? 
Stay, till the cloud that settles round his birth 
Hath Hfted but a little. Stay, sweet son." 

And Gareth answer'd quickly, "Not an hour, 130 

So that ye yield me — I will walk thro' fire. 
Mother, to gain it — your full leave to go. 
Not proven, who swept the dust of ruin'd Rome 
From off the threshold of the realm, and crush'd 
The Idolaters, and made the people free? 
Who should be King save him who makes us free? " 

So when the Queen, who long had sought in vain 
To break him from the intent to which he grew, 
Found her son's will unwaveringly one. 

She answer'd craftily, " Will ye walk thro' fire? 140 

Who walks thro' fire will hardly heed the smoke. 
Ay, go then, an ye must: only one proof. 
Before thou ask the King to make thee knight, 
Of thine obedience and thy love to me, 
Thy mother, — I demand." 

And Gareth cried, 
"A hard one, or a hundred, so I go. 
Nay — quick! the proof to prove me to the quick!" 

But slowly spake the mother looking at him, 
"Prince, thou shalt go disguised to Arthur's hall. 
And hire thyself to serve for meats and drinks 150 

Among the scullions and the kitchen-knaves. 
And those that hand the dish across the bar. 
Nor shalt thou tell thy name to anyone. 
And thou shalt serve a twelvemonth and a day." 

For so the Queen believed that when her son 
Beheld his only way to glory lead 



42 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Low down thro' villain kitchen- vassalage, 
Her own true Gareth was too princely-proud 
To pass thereby; so should he rest with her, 
Closed in her castle from the sound of arms. 

Silent awhile was Gareth, then repHed, 
"The thrall in person may be free in soul, 
And I shall see the jousts. Thy son am I, 
And since thou art my mother, must obey. 
I therefore yield me freely to thy will; 
For hence will I, disguised, and hire myself 
To serve with scullions and with kitchen-knaves; 
Nor tell my name to any — no, not the King." 

Gareth awhile linger'd. The mother's eye 
Full of the wistful fear that he would go, 
And turning toward him wheresoe'er he turn'd, 
Perplext his outward purpose, till an hour. 
When waken'd by the wind which with full voice 
Swept bellowing thro' the darkness on to dawn, 
He rose, and out of slumber calling two 
That still had tended on him from his birth, 
Before the wakeful mother heard him, went. 

The three were clad like tillers of the soil. 
Southward they set their faces. The birds made 
Melody on branch, and melody in mid air. 
The damp hill-slopes were quicken 'd into green, 
And the live green had kindled into flowers, 
For it was past the time of Easterday. 

So, when their feet were planted on the plain 
That broaden'd toward the base of Camelot, 
Far off they saw the silver-misty morn 
Rolling her smoke about the Royal mount, 



>pcci^^ 



GARETH AND LYNETTE, 43 



That rose between the forest and the field. 

At times the summit of the high city fiash'd ; -^r-" y '"^^ 

At times the spires and turrets half-way down ^^ '^ ' 190 ' 

Prick'd thro' the mist ; at times the great gate shone 

Only, that open'd on the field below : 

Anon, the whole fair city had disappear'd. 

Then those who went with Gareth were amazed. 
One crying, " Let us go no further, lord. 
Here is a city of Enchanters, built 
By fairy Kings." The second echo'd him, 
** Lord, we have heard from our wise man at home 
To Northward, that this King is not the King, 
But only changeling out of Fairyland, 200 

Who drave the heathen hence by sorcery 
And Merlin's glajnour." Then the first again, 
" Lord, there is no such city anywhere, 
But all a vision." 

Gareth answer'd them 
With laughter, swearing he had glamour enow 
In his own blood, his princedom, youth and hopes. 
To plunge old Merlin in the Arabian sea ; 
So push'd them all unwilling toward the gate. 
And there was no gate like it under heaven. 
For barefoot on the keystone, which was lined 210 

And rippled like an ever-fleeting wave. 
The Lady of the Lake stood : all her dress 
Wept from her sides as water flowing away ; 
But like the cross her great and goodly arms 
Stretch'd under all the cornice and upheld : 
And drops of water fell from either hand ; 
And down from one a sword was hung, from one 
A censer, either worn with wind and storm ; 
And o'er her breast floated the sacred fish ; 



44 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

And in the space to left of her, and right, 220 

Were Arthur's wars in* weird devices done, 

New things and old co-twisted, as if Time 

Were nothing, so inveterately, that men 

Were giddy gazing there; and over all 

High on the top were those three Queens, the friends 

Of Arthur, who should help him at his need. 

Then those with Gareth for so long a space 
Stared at the figures, that at last it seem'd 
The dragon-boughts and elvish emblemings 
Began to move, seethe, twine and curl : they call'd 230 

To Gareth, "Lord^ the gateway is alive." 

And Gareth likewise on them fixt his eyes 
So long, that ev'n to him they seem'd to move. 
Out of the city a blast of music peal'd. 
Back from the gate started the three, to whom 
From out thereunder came an ancient man. 
Long-bearded, saying, "Who be ye, my sons?" 

Then Gareth, "We be tillers of the soil, 
Who leaving share in furrow come to see 

The glories of our King; but these, my men, 240 

(Your city moved so weirdly in the mist) 
Doubt if the King be King at all, or come 
From Fairyland; and whether this be built 
By magic, and by fairy Kings and Queens; 
Or whether there be any city at all, 
Or all a vision: and this music now 
Hath scared them both, but tell thou these the truth." 

Then that old Seer made answer playing on him 
And saying, "Son, I have seen the good ship sail 
Keel upward, and mast downward, in the heavens, 250 



GARETH AND LYNETTE. 45 

And solid turrets topsy-turvy in air : 

And here is truth ; but an it please thee not. 

Take thou the truth as thou hast told it me. 

For truly as thou sayest, a Fairy King 

And Fairy Queens have built the city, son; 

They came from out a sacred mountain-cleft 

Toward the sunrise, each with harp in hand. 

And built it to the music of their harps. 

And, as thou sayest, it is enchanted, son, 

For there is nothing in it as it seems 260 

Saving the King ; tho' some there be that hold 

The King a shadow, and the city real : 

Yet take thou heed of him, for, so thou pass 

Beneath this archway, then wilt thou become 

A thrall to his enchantments, for the King 

Will bind thee by such vows, as is a shame 

A man should not be bound by, yet the which 

No man can keep ; but, so thou dread to swear, 

Pass not beneath this gateway, but abide 

Without, among the cattle of the field. 270 

For'an ye heard a music, like enow 

They are building still, seeing the city is built 

To music, therefore never built at all, 

And therefore built for ever." 

Gareth spake 
Anger'd, " Old Master, reverence thine own beard 
That looks as white as utter truth, and seems 
Wellnigh as long as thou art statured tall ! 
Why mockest thou the stranger that hath been 
To thee fair-spoken ? " 

But the Seer replied, 
'* Know ye not then the Riddling of the Bards? 280 

^ Confusion, and illusion, and relation, 



46 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Elusion, and occasion, and evasion'? 
I mock thee not but as thou mockest me. 
And all that see thee, for thou art not who 
Thou seemest, but I know thee who thou art. 
And now thou goest up to mock the King, 
Who cannot brook the shadow of any lie.'* 

Unmockingly the mocker ending here 
Turn'd to the right, and past along the plain; 
Whom Gareth looking after said, "My men, 
Our one white lie sits like a little ghost 
Here on the threshold of our enterprise. 
Let love be blamed for it, not she, nor I: 
Well, we will make amends." 

With all good cheer 
He spake and laugh'd, then enter'd with his twain 
Camelot, a city of shadowy palaces 
And stately, rich in emblem and the work 
Of ancient kings who did their days in stone; 
Which Merlin's hand, the Mage at Arthur's court, 
Knowing all arts, had touch'd, and everywhere 
At Arthur's ordinance, tipt with lessening peak 
And pinnacle, and had made it spire to heaven. 
And ever and anon a knight would pass 
Outward, or inward to the hall : his arms 
Clash'd ; and the sound was good to Gareth's ear. " 
And out of bower and casement shyly glanced 
Eyes of pure women, wholesome stars of love; 
And all about a healthful people stept 
As in the presence of a gracious king. 

Then into hall Gareth ascending heard 
A voice, the voice of Arthur, and beheld 
Far over heads in that long- vaulted hall 



GARETH AND LYNETTE. 47 

The splendour of the presence of the King 

Throned, and delivering doom — and look'd no more — 

But felt his young heart hammering in his ears, 

And thought, ''For this half-shadow of a lie 

The truthful King will doom me when I speak." 

Yet pressing on, tho' all in fear to find 

Sir Gawain or Sir Modred, saw nor one 

Nor other, but in all the listening eyes 320 

Of those tall knights, that ranged about the throne, 

Clear honour shining Hke the dewy star 

Of dawn, and faith in their great King, with pure 

Affection, and the light of victory. 

And glory gain'd, and evermore to gain. 

Then came a widow crying to the King, 
"A boon, Sir King! Thy father, Uther, refj 
From my dead lord a field with violence: 
For howsoe'er at first he proffer'd gold. 

Yet, for the field was pleasant in our eyes, 33c 

We yielded not; and then he reft us of it 
Perforce, and left us neither gold nor field." 

Said Arthur, "Whether would ye? gold or field?" 
To whom the woman weeping, "Nay, my lord. 
The field was pleasant in my husband's eye." 

And Arthur, "Have thy pleasant field again, 
And thrice the gold for Uther' s use thereof. 
According to the years. No boon is here. 
But justice, so thy say be proven true. 

Accursed, who from the wrongs his father did 340 

Would shape himself a right!" , 

And while she past, 
Came yet another widow crying to him, 
"A boon, Sir King! Thine enemy, King, am I. 
With thine own hand thou slewest my dear lord, 



^8 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

A knight of Uther in the Barons' war, 
When Lot and many another rose and fought 
Against thee, saying thou wert basely born. 
I held with these, and loathe to ask thee aught. 
Yet lo! my husband's brother had my son 
Thrall'd in his castle, and hath starved him dead; 
And standeth seized of that inheritance 
Which thou that slewest the sire hast left the son. 
So tho' I scarce can ask it thee for hate, 
Grant me some knight to do the battle for me, 
Kill the foul thief, and wreak me for my son." 

Then strode a good knight forward, crying to him, 
''A boon. Sir King! I am her kinsman, I. 
Give me to right her wrong, and slay the man." 

Then came Sir Kay, the seneschal, and cried, 
"A boon. Sir King! ev'n that thou grant her none, 
This railer, that hath mock'd thee in full hail- 
None; or the wholesome boon of gyve and gag." 

But Arthur, "We sit King, to help the wrong'd 
Thro' all our realm. The woman loves her lord. 
Peace to thee, woman, with thy loves and hates! 
The kings of old had doom'd thee to the flames, 
AureHus Emrys would have scourged thee dead, 
And Uther slit thy tongue: but get thee hence— 
Lest that rough humour of the kings of old 
Return upon me! Thou that art her kin, 
Go likewise; lay him low and slay him not. 
But bring him here, that I may judge the right, 
According to the justice of the King: 
Then, be he guilty, by that deathless King 
Who lived and died for men, the man shall die." 

.Then came in hall the messenger of Mark, 
A name of evil savour in the land, 



GAKETH AND LYNETTE. 49 

The Cornish king. In either hand he bore 

What dazzled all, and shone far-off as shines 

A field of charlock in the sudden sun 380 

Between two showers, a cloth of palest gold, 

Which down he laid before the throne, and knelt, 

Delivering, that his lord, the vassal king, 

Was ev'n upon his way to Camelot; 

For having heard that Arthur of his grace 

Had made his goodly cousin, Tristram, knight, 

And, for himself was of the greater state, 

Being a king, he trusted his liege-lord 

Would yield him this large honour all the more; 

So pray'd him well to accept this cloth of gold, 390 

In token of true heart and fealty. 

Then Arthur cried to rend the cloth, to rend 
In pieces, and so cast it on the hearth. 
An oak-tree smoulder'd there. "The goodly knight! 
What! shall the shield of Mark stand among these?" 
For, midway down the side of that long hall 
A stately pile, — whereof along the front. 
Some blazon'd, some but carven, and some blank, 
There ran a treble range of stony shields, — 
Rose, and high-arching overbrow'd the hearth. 400 

And under every shield a knight was named: 
For this was Arthur's custom in his hall; 
When some good knight had done one noble deed, 
His arms were carven only; but if twain. 
His arms were blazon'd also; but if none. 
The shield was blank and bare without a sign 
Saving the name beneath; and Gareth saw 
The shield of Gawain blazon'd rich and bright. 
And Modred's blank as death; and Arthur cried 
To rend the cloth and cast it on the hearth. 410 



50 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

" More like are we to reave him of his crown 
Than make him knight because men call him king. 
The kings we found, ye know we stay'd their hands 
From war among themselves, but left them kings; 
Of whom were any bounteous, merciful. 
Truth-speaking, brave, good livers, them we enroll'd 
Among us, and they sit within our hall. 
But Mark hath tarnish'd the great name of king, 
As Mark would sully the low state of churl: 
And, seeing he hath sent us cloth of gold. 
Return, and meet, and hold him from our eyes, 
Lest we should lap him up in cloth of lead, 
Silenced for ever — craven — a man of plots. 
Craft, poisonous counsels, wayside ambushings — 
No fault of thine: let Kay the seneschal 
Look to thy wants, and send thee satisfied — 
Accursed, who strikes nor lets the hand be seen!" 

And many another suppliant crying came 
With noise of ravage wrought by beast and man, 
And evermore a knight would ride away. 

Last, Gareth leaning both hands heavily 
Down on the shoulders of the twain, his men, 
Approach'd between them toward the King, and ask'd, 
"A boon. Sir King (his voice was all ashamed). 
For see ye not how weak and hungerworn 
I seem — leaning on these? grant me to serve 
For meat and drink among thy kitchen-knaves 
A twelvemonth and a day, nor seek my name. 
Hereafter I will fight." 

To him the King, 
*'A goodly youth and worth a goodlier boon! 
But so thou wilt no goodlier, then must Kay, 
The master of the meats and drinks, be thine." 



GARETH AND LYNETTE. 5 1 

He rose and past; then Kay, a man of mien 
Wan-sallow as the plant that feels itself 
Root-bitten by white lichen, 

"Lo ye now! 
This fellow hath broken from some Abbey, where, 
God wot, he had not beef and brewis enow. 
However that might chance! but an he work, 
Like any pigeon while I cram his crop. 
And sleeker shall he shine than any hog." 450 

Then Lancelot standing near, ''Sir Seneschal, 
Sleuth-hound thou knowest, and gray, and all the hounds; 
A horse thou knowest, a man thou dost not know: 
Broad brows and fair, a fluent hair and fine, 
High nose, a nostril large and fine, and hands 
Large, fair and fine! — Some young lad's mystery — 
But, or from sheepcot or king's hall, the boy 
Is noble-natured. Treat him with all grace. 
Lest he should come to shame thy judging of him." 

Then Kay, "What murmurest thou of mystery? 460 

Think ye this fellow will poison the King's dish? 
Nay, for he spake too fool-like: mystery! 
Tut, an the lad were noble, he had ask'd 
For horse and armour: fair and fine, forsooth! 
Sir Fine-face, Sir Fair-hands? but see thou to it 
That thine own fineness, Lancelot, some fine day 
Undo thee not — and leave my man to me." 

So Gareth all for glory underwent 
The sooty yoke of kitchen- vassalage; 

Ate with young lads his portion by the door, 470 

And couch'd at night with grimy kitchen-knaves. 
And Lancelot ever spake him pleasantly. 



52 IDYLLS OF THE KING, 

But Kay the seneschal, who loved him not, 

Would hustle and harry him, and labour him 

Beyond his comrade of the hearth, and set 

To turn the broach, draw water, or hew wood, 

Or grosser tasks; and Gareth bow'd himself 

With all obedience to the King, and wrought 

All kind of service with a noble ease 

That graced the lowliest act in doing it. 480 

And when the thralls had talk among themselves, 

And one would praise the love that linkt the King 

And Lancelot — how the King had saved his life 

In battle twice, and Lancelot once the King's — 

For Lancelot was the first in Tournament, 

But Arthur mightiest on the battle-field — 

Gareth was glad. Or if some other told, 

How once the wandering forester at dawn, 

Far over the blue tarns and hazy seas, 

On Caer-Eryri's highest found the King, 490 

A naked babe, of whom the Prophet spake, 

** He passes to the Isle Avilion, 

He passes and is heal'd and cannot die " — 

Gareth was glad. But if their talk were foul. 

Then would he whistle rapid as any lark. 

Or carol some old roundelay, and so loud 

That first they mock'd, but, after, reverenced him. 

Or Gareth telling some prodigious tale 

Of knights, who sliced a red life-bubbling way 

Thro' twenty folds of twisted dragon, held 500 

All in a gap-mouth'd circle his good mates 

Lying or sitting round him, idle hands, 

Charm'd ; till Sir Kay, the seneschal, would come 

Blustering upon them, like a sudden wind 

Among dead leaves, and drive them all apart. 

Or when the thralls had sport among themselves, 



GAKETH AND LYNETTE. 53 

So there were any trial of mastery, 

He, by two yards in casting bar or stone 

Was counted best; and if there chanced a joust, 

So that Sir Kay nodded him leave to go, 510 

Would hurry thither, and when he saw the knights 

Clash like the coming and retiring wave. 

And the spear spring, and good horse reel, the boy 

Was half beyond himself for ecstasy. 

So for a month he wrought among the thralls; 
But in the weeks that follow'd, the good Queen, 
Repentant of the word she made him swear. 
And saddening in her childless castle, sent, 
Between the in-crescent and de-crescent moon, 
Arms for her son, and loosed him from his vow. 520 

This, Gareth hearing from a squire of Lot 
With whom he used to play at tourney once. 
When both were children, and in lonely haunts 
Would scratch a ragged oval on the sand. 
And each at either dash from either end — 
Shame never made girl redder than Gareth joy. 
He laugh'd; he sprang. "Out of the smoke, at once 
I leap from Satan's foot to Peter's knee — 
These news be mine, none other's — nay, the King's — 
Descend into the city:" whereon he sought 530 

The King alone, and found, and told him all. 

"I have stagger'd thy strong Gawain in a tilt 
For pastime; yea, he said it: joust can I. 
Make me thy knight — in secret! let my name 
Be hidd'n, and give me the first quest, I spring 
Like flame from ashes." 

Here the King's calm eye 
Fell on, and check'd, and made him flush, and bow 



54 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Lowly, to kiss his hand, who answer'd him, 

"Son, the good mother let me know thee here. 

And sent her wish that I would yield thee thine. 540 

Make thee my knight? my knights are sworn to vows 

Of utter hardihood, utter gentleness. 

And, loving, utter faithfulness in love. 

And uttermost obedience to the King." 

Then Gareth, lightly springing from his knees, 
"My King, for hardihood I can promise thee. 
For uttermost obedience make demand 
Of whom ye gave me to, the Seneschal, 
No mellow master of the meats and drinks! 
And as for love, God wot, I love not yet, 550 

But love I shall, God willing." 

And the King — 
"Make thee my knight in secret? yea, but he. 
Our noblest brother, and our truest man. 
And one with me in all, he needs must know." 

"Let Lancelot know, my King, let Lancelot know. 
Thy noblest and thy truest! " 

And the King — 
"But wherefore would ye men should wonder at you? 
Nay, rather for the sake of me, their King, 
And the deed's sake my knighthood do the deed, 
Than to be noised of." 

Merrily Gareth ask'd, 560 

"Have I not earn'd my cake in baking of it? 
Let be my name until I make my name! 
My deeds will speak: it is but for a day." 
So with a kindly hand on Gareth's arm 



GARETH AND LYNETTE. 55 

Smiled the great King, and half-unwillingly 

Loving his lusty youthhood yielded to him. 

Then, after summoning Lancelot privily, 

''I have given him the first quest: he is not proven. 

Look therefore when he calls for this in hall, 

Thou get to horse and follow him far away. 570 

Cover the lions on thy shield, and see 

Far as thou mayest, he be nor ta'en nor slain." 

Then that same day there past into the hall 
A damsel of high lineage, and a brow 
May-blossom, and a cheek of apple-blossom, 
Hawk-eyes; and lightly was her slender nose 
Tip-tilted like the petal of a flower; 
She into hall past with her page and cried, 

"0 King, for thou hast driven the foe without, 
See to the foe within! bridge, ford, beset 580 

By bandits, everyone that owns a tower 
The Lord for half a league. Why sit ye there? 
Rest would I not, Sir King, an I were king, 
Till ev'n the lonest hold were all as free 
From cursed bloodshed, as thine altar-cloth 
From that best blood it is a sin to spill." 

"Comfort thyself," said Arthur, "I nor mine 
Rest: so my knighthood keep the vows they swore. 
The wastest moorland of our realm shall be 
Safe, damsel, as the center of this hall. 590 

What is thy name? thy need? " 

"My name?" she said — 
"Lynette my name; noble; my need, a knight 
To combat for my sister, Lyonors, 
A lady of high lineage, of great lands, 



56 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

And comely, yea, and conielier than myself. 

She lives in Castle Perilous : a river 

Runs in three loops about her living-place; 

And o'er it are three passings, and three knights 

Defend the passings, brethren, and a fourth 

And of that four the mightiest, holds her stay'd 

In her own castle, and so besieges her 

To break her will, and make her wed with him ; 

And but delays his purport till thou send 

To do the battle with him, thy chief man 

Sir Lancelot whom he trusts to overthrow, 

Then wed, with glory : but she will not wed 

Save whom she loveth, or a holy life. 

Now therefore have I come for Lancelot." 

Then Arthur mindful of Sir Gareth ask'd, 
" Damsel, ye know this Order lives to crush 
All wrongers of the Realm. But say, these four, 
Who be they? What the fashion of the men?" 

" They be of fooHsh fashion, O Sir King, 
The fashion of that old knight-errantry 
Who ride abroad, and do but what they will ; 
Courteous or bestial from the moment, such 
As have nor law nor king; and three of these 
Proud in their fantasy call themselves the Day, 
Morning-Star, and Noon-Sun, and Evening-Star, 
Being strong fools ; and never a whit more wise 
The fourth, who always rideth arm'd in black, 
A huge man-beast of boundless savagery. 
He names himself the Night and oftener Death, 
And wears a helmet mounted with a skull, 
And bears a skeleton figured on his arms, 
To show that who may slay or scape the three, 
Slain by himself, shall enter endless night. 



GARETH AND LYNETTE. 57 

And all these four be fools, but mighty men, 
And therefore am I come for Lancelot." 

Hereat Sir Gareth call'd from where he rose, 630 

A head with kindling eyes above the throng, 
"A boon. Sir King — this quest!" then — for he mark'd 
Kay near him groaning like a wounded bull — 
"Yea, King, thou knowest thy kitchen-knave am I, 
And mighty thro' thy meats and drinks am I, 
And I can topple over a hundred such. 
Thy promise, King," and Arthur glancing at him. 
Brought down a momentary brow. ''Rough, sudden, 
And pardonable, worthy to be knight — 
Go therefore," and all hearers were amazed. 640 

But on the damsel's forehead shame, pride, wrath 
Slew the May- white: she lifted either arm, 
"Fie on thee. King! I ask'd for thy chief knight. 
And thou hast given me but a kitchen-knave." 
Then ere a man in hall could stay her, turn'd. 
Fled down the lane of access to the King, 
Took horse, descended the slope street, and past 
The weird white gate, and paused without, beside 
The field of tourney, murmuring "kitchen-knave.'* 

Now two great entries open'd from the hall, 650 

At one end one, that gave upon a range 
Of level pavement where the King would pace 
At sunrise, gazing over plain and wood; 
And down from this a lordly stairway sloped 
Till lost in blowing trees and tops of towers; 
And out by this main doorway past the King. 
But one was counter to the hearth, and rose 
High that the highest-crested helm could ride 



58 IDYLLS OF THE KING, 

Therethro' nor graze: and by this entry fled 

The damsel in her wrath, and on to this 66o 

Sir Gareth strode, and saw without the door 

King Arthur's gift, the worth of half a town, 

A warhorse of the best, and near it stood 

The two that out of north had follow'd him : 

This bare a maiden shield : a casque ; that held 

The horse, the spear; whereat Sir Gareth loosed 

A cloak that dropt from collar-bone to heel, 

A cloth of roughest web, and cast it down, 

And from it like a fuel-smother'd fire, 

That lookt half-dead, brake bright, and flash'd as those 

Dull-coated things, that making slide apart 670 

Their dusk wing-cases, all beneath there burns 

A jewell'd harness, ere they pass and fly. 

So Gareth ere he parted flash'd in arms. 

Then as he donn'd the helm, and took the shield 

And mounted horse and graspt a spear, of grain 

Storm-strengthen'd on a windy site, and tipt 

With trenchant steel, around him slowly prest 

The people, while from out of kitchen came 

The thralls in throng, and seeing who had work'd 680 

Lustier than any, and whom they could but love, 

Mounted in arms, threw up their caps and cried, 

" God bless the King, and all his fellowship ! " 

And on thro' lanes of shouting Gareth rode 

Down the slope street, and past without the gate. 

So Gareth past with joy ; but as the cur 
Pluckt from the cur he fights with, ere his cause 
Be cool'd by fighting, follows, being named. 
His owner, but remembers all, and growls 
Remembering, so Sir Kay beside the door 690 

Mutter'd in scorn of Gareth whom he used 
To harry and hustle. 



GARETH AND LYNETTE, 59 

" Bound upon a quest 
With horse and arms — the King hath past his time — 
My sculhon knave ! Thralls to your work again, 
For an your fire be low ye kindle mine ! 
Will there be dawn in West and eve in East? 
Begone ! — my knave ! — belike and like enow 
Some old head-blow not heeded in his youth 
So shook his wits they wander in his prime — 
Crazed ! How the villain lifted up his voice, 700 

Nor shamed to bawl himself a kitchen-knave. 
Tut : he was tame and meek enow with me. 
Till peacock'd up with Lancelot's noticing. 
Well — I will after my loud knave, and learn 
Whether he know me for his master yet. 
Out of the smoke he came, and so my lance 
Hold, by God's grace, he shall into the mire — 
Thence, if the King awaken from his craze, 
Into the smoke again." 

But Lancelot said, 
" Kay, wherefore wilt thou go against the King, 710 

For that did never he whereon ye rail. 
But ever meekly served the King in thee? 
Abide : take counsel ; for this lad is great 
And lusty, and knowing both of lance and sword." 
" Tut, tell not me," said Kay, " ye are overfine 
To mar stout knaves with foolish courtesies : " 
Then mounted, on thro' silent faces rode 
Down the slope city, and out beyond the gate. 

But by the field of tourney Hngering yet 
Mutter'd the damsel, " Wherefore did the King 720 

Scorn me ? for, were Sir Lancelot lackt, at least 
He might have yielded to me one of those 
Who tilt for lady's love and glory here. 



6o IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Rather than — O sweet heaven! O iie upon him — 
His kitchen-knave." 

To whom Sir Gareth drew 
(And there were none but few goodlier than he) 
Shining in arms, "Damsel, the quest is mine. 
Lead, and I follow." She thereat, as one 
That smells a foul-flesh'd agaric in the holt, 
And deems it carrion of some woodland thing, 730 

Or shrew, or weasel, nipt her slender nose 
With petulant thumb and finger, shrilling, "Hence^ 
Avoid, thou smellest all of kitchen-grease. 
And look who comes behind," for there was Kay. 
"Knowest thou not me? thy master? I am Kay. 
We lack thee by the hearth." 

And Gareth to him, 
"Master no more! too well I know thee, ay — 
The most ungentle knight in Arthur's hall." 
"Have at thee then," said Kay: they shock'd, and Kay 
Fell shoulder-slipt, and Gareth cried again, 740 

"Lead, and I follow," and fast away she fled. 

But after sod and shingle ceased to fly 
Behind her, and the heart of her good horse 
Was nigh to burst with violence of the beat, 
Perforce she stay'd, and overtaken spoke. 

"What doest thou, scuflion, in my fellowship? 
Deem'st thou that I accept thee aught the more 
Or love thee better, that by some device 
Full cowardly, or by mere unhappiness, 

Thou hast overthrown and slain thy master — thou! — 750 

Dish-washer and broach-turner, loon ! — to me 
Thou smellest all of kitchen as before." 



GARETH AND LYNETTE. 6l 

" Damsel," Sir Gareth answer'd gently, " say 
Whate'er ye will, but whatsoe'er ye say, 
I leave not till I finish this fair quest. 
Or die therefore." 

*' Ay, wilt thou finish it? 
Sweet lord, how like a noble knight he talks ! 
The listening rogue hath caught the manner of it 
But, knave, anon thou shalt be met with, knave, 
And then by such a one that thou for all 760 

The kitchen brewis that was ever supt 
Shalt not once dare to look him in the face." 

" I shall assay," said Gareth with a smile 
That madden'd her, and away she flash'd again 
Down the long avenues of a boundless wood, 
And Gareth following was again beknaved. 

*' Sir Kitchen-knave, I have miss'd the only way 
Where Arthur's men are set along the wood; 
The wood is nigh as full of thieves as leaves : 
If both be slain, I am rid of thee : but yet, 770 

Sir Scullion, canst thou use that spit of thine? 
Fight, an thou canst : I have miss'd the only way." 

So till the dusk that follow'd evensong 
Rode on the two, reviler and reviled ; 
Then after one long slope was mounted, saw. 
Bowl-shaped, thro' tops of many thousand pines 
A gloomy-gladed hollow slowly sink 
To westward — in the deeps whereof a mere. 
Round as the red eye of an Eagle-owl, 

Under the half-dead sunset glared ; and shouts 780 

Ascended, and there brake a servingman 



62 IDYLLS OF THE KING, 

Flying from out of the black wood, and crying, 

*' They have bound my lord to cast him in the mere." 

Then Gareth, *' Bound am I to right the wrong'd. 

But straither bound am I to bide with thee." 

And when the damsel spake contemptuously, 

" Lead, and I follow," Gareth cried again, 

" Follow, I lead ! " so down among the pines 

He plunged ; and there, blackshadow'd nigh the mere, 

And mid-thigh-deep in bulrushes and reed, 790 

Saw six tall men haling a seventh along, 

A stone about his neck to drown him in it. 

Three with good blows he quieted, but three 

Fled thro' the pines ; and Gareth loosed the stone 

From off his neck, then in the mere beside 

Tumbled it ; oilily bubbled up the mere. 

Last, Gareth loosed his bonds and on free feet 

Set him, a stalwart Baron, Arthur's friend. 

" Well that ye came, or else these caitiff rogues 
Had wreak'd themselves on me ; good cause is theirs 800 
To hate me, for my wont hath ever been 
To catch my thief, and then like vermin here 
Drown him, and with a stone about his neck; 
And under this wan water many of them 
Lie rotting, but at night let go the stone. 
And rise, and flickering in a grimly light 
Dance on the mere. Good now, ye have saved a life 
Worth somewhat as the cleanser of this wood. 
And fain would I reward thee worshipfully. 
What guerdon will ye ? " 

Gareth sharply spake, 810 

" None ! for the deed's sake have I done the deed, 
In uttermost obedience to the King. 
But wilt thou yield this damsel harbourage?" 



GARETH AND LYNETTE. 63 

Whereat the Baron saying, '' I well believe 
You be of Arthur's Table," a light laugh 
Broke from Lynette, " Ay, truly of a truth, 
And in a sort, being Arthur's kitchen-knave ! — 
But deem not I accept thee aught the more, 
Scullion, for running sharply with thy spit 
Down on a rout of craven foresters. 820 

A thresher with his flail had scatter'd them. 
Nay — for thou smellest of the kitchen still. 
But an this lord will yield us harbourage, 
Well." 

So she spake. A league beyond the wood. 
All in a full-fair manor and a rich, 
His towers where that day a feast had been 
Held in high hall, and many a viand left. 
And many a costly cate, received the three. 
And there they placed a peacock in his pride 
Before the damsel, and the Baron set 83c 

Gareth beside her^ but at once she rose. 

" Meseems, that here is much discourtesy, 
Setting this knave, Lord Baron, at my side. 
Hear me — this morn I stood in Arthur's hall. 
And pray'd the King would grant me Lancelot 
To fight the brotherhood of Day and Night — 
The last a monster unsubduable 
Of any save of him for whom I call'd — 
Suddenly bawls this frontless kitchen-knave, 
' The quest is mine ; thy kitchen-knave am I, 840 

And mighty thro' thy meats and drinks am L' 
Then Arthur all at once gone mad replies, 
* Go therefore,' and so gives the quest to him — 
Him — here — a villain fitter to stick swine 



64 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Than ride abroad redressing women's wrong, 
Or sit beside a noble gentlewoman." 

Then half-ashamed and part-amazed, the lord 
Now look'd at one and now at other, left 
The damsel by the peacock in his pride, 

And, seating Gareth at another board, 850 

Sat down beside him, ate and then began. 

"Friend, whether thou be kitchen-knave, or not, 
Or whether it be the maiden's fantasy. 
And whether she be mad, or else the King, 
Or both or neither, or thyself be mad, 
I ask not: but thou strikest a strong stroke, 
For strong thou art and goodly therewithal, 
And saver of my life; and therefore now. 
For here be mighty men to joust with, weigh 
Whether thou wilt not with thy damsel back 860 

To crave again Sir Lancelot of the King. 
Thy pardon; I but speak for thine avail, 
The saver of my life." 

And Gareth said, 
"Full pardon, but I follow up the quest 
Despite of Day and Night and Death and Hell." 

f 

So when, next morn, the lord whose life he saved 
Had, some brief space, convey'd them on their way 
And left them with God-speed, Sir Gareth spake, 
"Lead, and I follow." Haughtily she replied, 

"I fly no more: I allow thee for an hour. 870 

Lion and stoat have isled together, knave, 
In time of flood. Nay, furthermore, methinks 
Some ruth is mine for thee. Back wilt thou, fool? 



GARETH AND LYNETTE. ' 65 

For hard by here is one will overthrow 
And slay thee: then will I to court again, 
And shame the King for only yielding me 
My champion from the ashes of his hearth." 

To whom Sir Gareth answer'd courteously, 
" Say thou thy say, and I will do my deed. 
Allow me for mine hour, and thou wilt find 880 

My fortunes all as fair as hers who lay 
Among the ashes and wedded the King's son." 

Then to the shore of one of those long loops 
Wherethro' the serpent river coil'd, they came. 
Rough- thicketed were the banks and steep; the stream 
Full, narrow; this a bridge of single arc 
Took at a leap; and on the further side 
Arose a silk pavilion, gay with gold 
In streaks and rays, and all Lent-lily in hue, 
Save that the dome was purple, and above, 890 

Crimson, a slender banneret fluttering. 
And therebefore the lawless warrior paced 
Unarm'd, and calling, "Damsel, is this he. 
The champion thou hast brought from Arthur's hall? 
For whom we let thee pass." "Nay, nay," she said, 
"Sir Morning-Star. The King in utter scorn 
Of thee and thy much folly hath sent thee here 
His kitchen-knave: and look thou to thyself: 
See that he fall not on thee suddenly. 
And slay thee unarm'd: he is not knight but knave." goo 

Then at his call, "O daughters of the Dawn, 
And servants of the Morning-Star, approach. 
Arm me," from out the silken curtain-folds 
Bare-footed and bare-headed three fair girls 



66 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

In gilt and rosy raiment came: their feet 

In dewy grasses glisten'd; and the hair 

AH over glanced with dewdrop or with gem 

Like sparkles in the stone Avahturine. 

These arm'd him in blue arms, and gave a shield 

Blue also, and thereon the morning star. 910 

And Gareth silent gazed upon the knight, 

Who stood a moment, ere his horse was brought, 

Glorying; and in the stream beneath him, shone 

Immingled with Heaven's azure waveringly, 

The gay pavilion and the naked feet, 

His arms, the rosy raiment, and the star. 

Then she that watch'd him, "Wherefore stare ye so? 
Thou shakest in thy fear: there yet is time: 
Flee down the valley before he get to horse. 
Who will cry shame? Thou art not knight but knave." 

Said Gareth, "Damsel, whether knave or knight, 920 

Far liefer had I fight a score of times 
Than hear thee so missay me and revile. 
Fair words were best for him who fights for thee; 
But truly foul are better, for they send 
That strength of anger thro' mine arms, I know 
That I shall overthrow him.'^ 

And he that bore 
The star, when mounted, cried from o'er the bridge, 
"A kitchen-knave, and sent in scorn of me! 
Such fight not I, but answer scorn with scorn. 930 

For this were shame to do him further wrong 
Than set him on his feet, and take his horse 
And arms, and so return him to the King. 

Come, therefore, leave thy lady lightly, knave. ,«J 

Avoid: for it beseemeth not a knave ' - •* 

To ride with such a lady." 



GARETH AND LYNETTE. 6/ 

" Dog, thou liest. 
I spring from loftier lineage than thine own." 
He spake ; and all at fiery speed the two 
Shock'd on the central bridge, and either spear 
Bent but not brake, and either knight at once, 940 

Hurl'd as a stone from out of a catapult 
Beyond his horse's crupper and the bridge, 
Fell, as if dead ; but quickly rose and drew. 
And Gareth lash'd so fiercely with his brand 
He drave his enemy backward down the bridge, 
The damsel crying, " Well-stricken, kitchen-knave ! " 
Till Gareth's shield was cloven ; but one stroke 
Laid him that clove it grovelling on the ground. 

Then cried the falln, *' Take not my Hfe: I yield.'* 
And Gareth, " So this damsel ask it of me 95^ 

Good — I accord it easily as a grace." 
She reddening, " Insolent scullion: I of thee? 
I bound to thee for any favour ask'd ! " 
" Then shall he die." And Gareth then unlaced 
His helmet as to slay him, but she shriek'd, 
" Be not so hardy, scullion, as to slay 
One nobler than thyself." " Damsel, thy charge 
Is an abounding pleasure to me. Knight, 
Thy life is thine at her command. Arise 
And quickly pass to Arthur's hall, and say 960 

His kitchen-knave hath sent thee. See thou crave 
His pardon for thy breaking of his laws. 
Myself, when I return, will plead for thee. 
Thy shield is mine — farewell; and, damsel, thou. 
Lead, and I follow." 

And fast away she fled. 
Then when he came upon her, spake, '' Methought, 
Knave, when I watch'd thee striking on the bridge 



68 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

The savour of thy kitchen came upon me 

A little faintlier: but the wind hath changed: 

I scent it twenty-fold." And then she sang, 970 

" 'O morning star' (not that tall felon there 

Whom thou by sorcery or unhappiness 

Or some device, hast foully overthrown), 

' O morning star that smilest in the blue, 

O star, my morning dream hath proven true. 

Smile sweetly, thou! my love hath smiled on me/ 

"But thou begone, take counsel, and away. 
For hard by here is one that guards a ford — 
The second brother in their fool's parable — 
Will pay thee all thy wages, and to boot. 980 

Care not for shame: thou art not knight but knave." 

To whom Sir Gareth answer'd, laughingly, 
" Parables? Hear a parable of the knave. 
When I was kitchen-knave among the rest 
Fierce was the hearth, and one of my co-mates 
Own'd a rough dog, to whom he cast his coat, 
' Guard it,' and there was none to meddle with it. 
And such a coat art thou, and thee the King 
Gave me to guard, and such a dog am I, 

To worry, and not to flee — and — knight or knave — 990 

The knave that doth thee service as full knight 
Is all as good, meseems, as any knight 
Toward thy sister's freeing." 

"Ay, Sir Knave! 
Ay, knave, because thou strikest as a knight. 
Being but knave, I hate thee all the more." 

"Fair damsel, you should worship me the more. 
That, being but knave, I throw thine enemies." 



GARETH AND LYNETTE. 69 

" Ay, ay," she said, " but thou shalt meet thy match." 

So when they touch'd the second river-loop, 
Huge on a huge red horse, and all in mail looo 

Burnish'd to blinding, shone the Noonday Sun 
Beyond a raging shallow. As if the flower. 
That blows a globe of after arrowlets. 
Ten thousand-fold had grown, flash'd the fierce shield, 
All sun ; and Gareth's eyes had flying blots 
Before them when he turn'd from watching him. 
He from beyond the roaring shallow roar'd, 
" What doest thou, brother, in my marches here ? " 
And she athwart the shallow shrill'd again, 
" Here is a kitchen-knave from Arthur's hall lOio 

Hath overthrown thy brother, and hath his arms." 
" Ugh ! " cried the Sun, and vizoring up a red 
And cipher face of rounded foolishness, 
Push'd horse across the foamings of the ford, 
Whom Gareth met midstream : no room was there 
For lance or tourney-skill: four strokes they struck 
With sword, and these were mighty; the new knight 
Had fear he might be shamed ; but as the Sun 
Heaved up a ponderous arm to strike the fifth, 
Tlie hoof of his horse slipt in the stream, the stream 1020 
Descended, and the Sun was wash'd away. 

Then Gareth laid his lance athwart the ford ; 
So drew him home ; but he that fought no more, 
As being all bone-batter'd on the rock. 
Yielded ; and Gareth sent him to the King. 
" Myself when I return will plead for thee." 
" Lead, and I follow." Quietly she led. 
" Hath not the good wind, damsel, changed again?" 
" Nay, not a point : nor art thou victor here. 



70 



IDYLLS OF THE KING. 



There lies a ridge of slate across the ford; 
His horse thereon stumbled — ay, for I saw it. 

" 'O Sun' (not this strong fool whom thou, Sir Knave, 
Hast overthrown thro' mere unhappiness), 
' O Sun, that wakenest all to bliss or pain, 
O moon, that lay est all to sleep again. 
Shine sweetly: twice my love hath smiled on me.' 

"What knowest thou of lovesong or of love? 
Nay, nay, God wot, so thou wert nobly born. 
Thou hast a pleasant presence. Yea, perchance, — 

" 'O dewy flowers that open to the sun, 
O dewy flowers that close when day is done. 
Blow sweetly: twice my love hath smiled on me.' 

"What knowest thou of flowers, except, belike, 
To garnish meats with? hath not our good King 
Who lent me thee, the flower of kitchendom, 
A foolish love for flowers? what stick ye round 
The pasty? wherewithal deck the boar's head? 
Flowers? nay, the boar hath rosemaries and bay. 

" 'O birds, that warble to the morning sky, 
O birds that warble as the day goes by, 
Sing sweetly: twice my love hath smiled on me.' 

"What knowest thou of birds, lark, mavis, merle. 
Linnet? what dream ye when they utter forth 
May-music growing with the growing light, 
Their sweet sun-worship? these be for the snare, 
(So runs thy fancy) these be for the spit, 
Larding and basting. See thou have not now 



GARETH AND LYNETTE. 

Larded thy last, except thou turn and fly. 
There stands the third fool of their allegory.'* 



71 



For there beyond a bridge of treble bow, io6c 

All in a rose-red from the west, and all 
Naked it seem'd, and glowing in the broad 
Deep-dimpled current underneath, the knight, 
That named himself the Star of Evening, stood. 

And Gareth, "Wherefore waits the madman there 
Naked in open dayshine?" "Nay," she cried, 
"Not naked, only wrapt in harden'd skins 
That fit him like his own; and so ye cleave 
His armour off him, these will turn the blade." 

Then the third brother shouted o'er the bridge, * 1070 

"O brother-star, why shine ye here so low? 
Thy ward is higher up: but have ye slain 
The damsel's champion? " and the damsel cried, 

"No star of thine, but shot from Arthur's heaven 
With all disaster unto thine and thee! 
For both thy younger brethren have gone down 
Before this youth; and so wilt thou. Sir Star; 
Art thou not old?" 

"Old, damsel, old and hard. 
Old, with the might and breath of twenty boys." 
Said Gareth, "Old, and over-bold in brag! 1080 

But that same strength which threw the Morning-Star 
Can throw the Evening." 

Then that other blew 
A hard and deadly note upon the horn. 
"Approach and arm me!" With slow steps from out 



72 IDYLLS OF THE KING, 

An old storm-beaten, russet, many-stain'd 

Pavilion, forth a grizzled damsel came. 

And arm'd him in old arms, and brought a helm 

With but a drying evergreen for crest. 

And gave a shield whereon the Star of Even 

Half-tarnish'd and half-bright, his emblem, shone. 1090 

But when it glitter'd o'er the saddle-bow 

They madly hurl'd together on the bridge ; 

And Gareth overthrew him, lighted, drew. 

There met him drawn, and overthrew him again, 

But up like fire he started: and as oft 

As Gareth brought him grovelling on his knees, 

So many a time he vaulted up again ; 

Till Gareth panted hard, and his great heart, 

Foredooming all his trouble was in vain, 

Labour'd within him, for he seem'd as one 1 100 

That all in later, sadder age begins 

To war again ill uses of a life. 

But these from all his life arise, and cry, 

" Thou hast made us lords, and canst not put us down ! '* 

He half despairs ; so Gareth seem'd to strike 

Vainly, the damsel clamouring all the while, 

''Well done, knave-knight, well stricken, O good knight-knave — 

O knave, as noble as any of all the knights. 

Shame me not, shame me not. I have prophesied — 

Strike, thou art worthy of the Table Round — 1 1 10 

His arms are old, he trusts the harden'd skin — 

Strike — strike — the wind will never change again." 

And Gareth hearing ever stronglier smote. 

And hew'd great pieces of his armour off him. 

But lash'd in vain against the harden'd skin, 

And could not wholly bring him under, more 

Than loud Southwesterns, rolling ridge on ridge. 

The buoy that rides at sea, and dips and springs 



GARETH AND LYNETTE. 



73 



For ever; till at length Sir Gareth's brand 

Clash'd his, and brake it utterly to the hilt. 1120 

''I have thee now;" but forth that other sprang, 

And, all unknightlike, writhed his wiry arms 

Around him, till he felt, despite his mail, 

Strangled, but straining ev'n his uttermost 

Cast, and so hurl'd him headlong o'er the bridge 

Down to the river, sink or swim, and cried, 

''Lead, and I follow." 

But the damsel said, 
'"I lead no longer; ride thou at my side; 
Thou art the kingliest of all kitchen-knaves. 

" 'O trefoil, sparkKng on the rainy plain, 1130 

O rainbow with three colors after rain. 
Shine sweetly: thrice my love hath smiled on me.' 

" Sir — and, good faith, I fain had added — Knight, 
But that I heard thee call thyself a knave, — 
Shamed am I that I so rebuked, reviled, 
Missaid thee; noble I am; and thought the King 
Scorn'd me and mine; and now thy pardon, friend, 
For thou hast ever answer'd courteously. 
And wholly bold thou art, and meek withal 
As any of Arthur's best, but, being knave, 1140 

Hast mazed my wit: I marvel what thou art." 

"Damsel," he said, "you be not all to blame, 
Saving that you mistrusted our good King 
Would handle scorn, or yield you, asking, one 
Not fit to cope your quest. You said your say; 
Mine answer was my deed. Good sooth! I hold 
He scarce is knight, yea but half-man, nor meet 
To fight for gentle damsel, he, who lets 
His heart be stirr'd with any fooHsh heat 



74 IDYLLS OF THE KING, 

At any gentle damsel's waywardness. 1150 

Shamed ? care not ! thy foul sayings fought for me : 
And seeing now thy words are fair, methinks 
There rides no knight, not Lancelot, his great self. 
Hath force to quell me." 

Nigh upon that hour 
When the lone hern forgets his melancholy, 
Lets down his other leg, and stretching, dreams 
Of goodly supper in the distant pool, 
Then turn'd the noble damsel smiling at him. 
And told him of a cavern hard at hand. 
Where bread and baken meats and good red wine 1 160 
Of Southland, which the Lady Lyonors 
Had sent her coming champion, waited him. 

Anon they past a narrow comb wherein 
Were slabs of rock with figures, knights on horse 
Sculptured, and deckt in slowly-waning hues. 
" Sir Knave, my knight, a hermit once was here, 
Whose holy hand hath fashion'd on the rock 
The war of Time against the soul of man. 
And yon four fools have suck'd their allegory 
From these damp walls, and taken but the form. 1170 

Know ye not these ? " and Gareth lookt and read — 
In letters like to those the vexillary 
Hath left crag-carven o'er the streaming Gelt — 
" Phosphorus," then " Meridies " — " Hesperus " — 
" Nox " — " Mors," beneath five figures, armed men, 
Slab after slab, their faces forward all, 
And running down the Soul, a Shape that fled 
With broken wings, torn raiment and loose hair, 
For help and shelter to the hermit's cave. 
\ " Follow the faces, and we find it. Look, 1 180 

Who comes behind? '* 



GARETH AND LYNETTE. 75 

For one — delay'd at first 
Thro' helping back the dislocated Kay 
To Camelot, then by what thereafter chanced, 
The damsel's headlong error thro' the wood — 
Sir Lancelot, having swum the river-loops — 
His blue shield-lions cover'd — softly drew 
Behind the twain, and when he saw the star 
Gleam, on Sir Gareth's turning to him, cried, 
" Stay, felon knight, I avenge me for my friend.'* 
And Gareth crying prick'd against the cry; 1 190 

But when they closed — in a moment — at one touch 
Of that skill'd spear, the wonder of the world — 
Went sliding down so easily, and fell. 
That when he found the grass wdthin his hands 
He laugh 'd ; the laughter jarr'd upon Lynette : 
Harshly she ask'd him, " Shamed and overthrown. 
And tumbled back into the kitchen-knave. 
Why laugh ye? that ye blew your boast in vain? " 
" Nay, noble damsel, but that I, the son 
Of old King Lot and good Queen Bellicent, 1200 

And victor of the bridges and the ford. 
And knight of Arthur, here lie thrown by whom 
I know not, all thro' mere unhappiness — 
Device and sorcery and unhappiness — 

Out, sword; we are thrown!" And Lancelot answer'd, "Prince, 
O Gareth — thro' the mere unhappiness 
Of one who came to help thee, not to harm, 
Lancelot, and all as glad to find thee whole. 
As on the day when Arthur knighted him." 

Then Gareth, " Thou — Lancelot ! — thine the hand 1210 
That threw me? An some chance to mar the boast 
Thy brethren of thee make — which could not chance — 
Had sent thee down before a lesser spear, 
Shamed had I b.een, and sad — O Lancelot — thou ! " 



76 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Whereat the maiden, petulant, " Lancelot, 
Why came ye not, when call'd ? and wherefore now 
Come ye, not call'd ? I gloried in my knave, 
Who being still rebuked, would answer still 
Courteous as any knight— but now, if knight, 
The marvel dies, and leaves me fool'd and trick'd, 1220 
And only wondering wherefore play'd upon : 
And doubtful whether I and mine be scorn'd. 
Where should be truth if not in Arthur's hall. 
In Arthur's presence? Knight, knave, prince and fool, 
I hate thee and for ever." 

And Lancelot said, 
" Blessed be thou. Sir Gareth ! knight art thou 
To the King's best wish. O damsel, be you wise 
To call him shamed, who is but overthrown ? 
Thrown have I been, nor once, but many a time. 
Victor from vanquish'd issues at the last, 1230 

And overthrower from being overthrown. 
With sword we have not striven; and thy good horse 
And thou are weary ; yet not less I felt 
Thy manhood thro' that wearied lance of thine. 
Well hast thou done ; for all the stream is freed, 
And thou hast wreak'd his justice on his foes, 
And when reviled, hast answer'd graciously. 
And makest merry when overthrown. Prince, Knight, 
Hail, Knight and Prince, and of our Table Round ! " 

And then when turning to Lynette he told 1240 

The tale of Gareth, petulantly she said, 
" Ay well — ay well — for worse than being fool'd 
Of others, is to fool one's self. A cave. 
Sir Lancelot, is hard by, with meats and drinks 
And forage for the horse, and flint for fire. 
But all about it flies a honeysuckle. 



GARETH AND LYNETTE. 77 

Seek, till we find." And when they sought and found 

Sir Gareth drank and ate, and all his life 

Past into sleep; on whom the maiden gazed. 

"Sound sleep be thine! sound cause to sleep hast thou. 

Wake lusty! Seem I not as tender to him 1250 

As any mother? Ay, but such a one 

As all day long hath rated at her child, 

And vext his day, but blesses him asleep — 

Good lord, how sweetly smells the honeysuckle 

In the hush'd night, as if the world were one 

Of utter peace, and love, and gentleness! 

O Lancelot, Lancelot" — and she clapt her hands — 

" Full merry am I to find my goodly knave 

Is knight and noble. See now, sworn have I, 1260 

Else yon black felon had not let me pass, 

To bring thee back to do the battle with him. 

Thus an thou goest, he will fight thee first; 

Who doubts thee victor? so will my knight-knave 

Miss the full flower of this accomplishment." 

Said Lancelot, " Peradventure he, you name, 
May know my shield. Let Gareth, an he will. 
Change his for mine, and take my charger, fresh, 
Not to be spurr'd, loving the battle as well 
As he that rides him." "Lancelot-like," she said, 1270 

" Courteous in this. Lord Lancelot, as in all." 

And Gareth, wakening, fiercely clutch'd the shield; 
" Ramp ye lance-spHntering Hons, on whom all spears 
Are rotten sticks! ye seem agape to roar! 
Yea, ramp and roar at leaving of your lord! — 
Care not, good beasts, so well I care for you. 
O noble Lancelot, from my hold on these 
Streams virtue — fire — thro' one that will not shame 
Even the shadow of Lancelot under shield. 
Hence: let us go." 



78 IDYLLS OF THE KING, 

Silent the silent field 
They traversed. Arthur's harp tho' summer-wan, 1280 
In counter motion to the clouds, allured 
The glance of Gareth dreaming on his liege. 
A star shot : " Lo,'' said Gareth, " the foe falls ! " 
An owl whoopt: '' Hark the victor pealing there! " 
Suddenly she that rode upon his left 
Clung to the shield that Lancelot lent him, crying, 
'' Yield, yield him this again : 'tis he must fight : 
I curse the tongue that all thro' yesterday 
Reviled thee, and hath wrought on Lancelot now 1290 
To lend thee horse and shield : wonders ye have done ; 
Miracles ye cannot: here is glory enow 
In having flung the three : I see thee maim'd. 
Mangled : I swear thou canst not fling the fourth." 

" And wherefore, damsel ? tell me all ye know. 
You cannot scare me ; nor rough face, or voice. 
Brute bulk of limb, or boundless savagery 
Appal me from the quest." 

" Nay, Prince," she cried, 
" God wot, I never look'd upon the face. 
Seeing he never rides abroad by day; 1300 

But watch 'd him have I Hke a phantom pass 
Chilling the night : nor have I heard the voice. 
Always he made his mouthpiece of a page 
Who came and went, and still reported him 
As closing in himself the strength of ten, 
And when his anger tare him, massacring 
Man, woman, lad and girl — yea, the soft babe ! 
Some hold that he hath swallow'd infant flesh, 
Monster ! O Prince, I went for Lancelot first, 
The quest is Lancelot's: give him back the shield." 1310 



GARETH AND LYNETTE. 79 

Said Gareth laughing, "An he fight for thiS; 
Belike he wins it as the better man: 
Thus — and not else!" 

But Lancelot on him urged 
All the devisings of their chivalry 
When one might meet a mightier than himself; 
How best to manage horse, lance, sword and shield, 
And so fill up the gap where force might fail 
With skill and fineness. Instant were his words. 

Then Gareth, "Here be rules. I know but one — 
To dash against mine enemy and to win. 1320 

Yet have I watch'd thee victor in the joust, 
And seen thy way." "Heaven help thee," sigh'd Lynette. 

Then for a space, and under cloud that grew 
To thunder-gloom palling all stars, they rode 
In converse till she made her palfrey halt. 
Lifted an arm, and softly whisper'd, "There." 
And all the three were silent seeing, pitch 'd 
Beside the Castle Perilous on flat field, 
A huge pavilion like a mountain peak 

Sunder the gloomy crimson on the marge, 1330 

Black, with black banner, and a long black horn 
Beside it hanging; which Sir Gareth grasp t, 
And so, before the two could hinder him, 
Sent all his heart and breath thro' all the horn. 
Echo'd the walls; a light twinkled; anon 
Came lights and lights, and once again he blew; 
Whereon were hollow tramplings up and down 
And muffled voices heard, and shadows past; 
Till high above him, circled with her maids, 
The Lady Lyonors at a window stood, 1340 

Beautiful among lights, and waving to him 



80 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

White hands, and courtesy ; but when the Prince 

Three times had blown — after long hush — at last — 

The huge pavilion slowly yielded up, 

Thro' those black foldings, that which housed therein. 

High on a nightblack horse, in nightblack arms. 

With white breast-bone, and barren ribs of Death, 

And crown'd with fleshless laughter — some ten steps — 

In the half-light — thro' the dim dawn — advanced 

The monster, and then paused, and spake no word. 1350 

But Gareth spake and all indignantly, 
*' Fool, for thou hast, men say, the strength of ten, 
Canst thou not trust the limbs thy God hath given, 
But must, to make the terror of thee more. 
Trick thyself out in ghastly imageries 
Of that which Life hath done with, and the clod. 
Less dull than thou, will hide with mantling flowers 
As if for pity ? " But he spake no word ; 
Which set the horror higher: a maiden swoon'd; 
The Lady Lyonors wrung her hands and wept, 1360 

As doom'd to be the bride of Night and Death ; 
Sir Gareth's head prickled beneath his helm ; 
And ev'n Sir Lancelot thro' his warm blood felt 
Ice strike, and all that mark'd him were aghast. 

At once Sir Lancelot's charger fiercely neigh'd. 
And Death's dark war-horse bounded forward with him. 
Then those that did not blink with terror, saw 
That Death was cast to ground, and slowly rose. 
But with one stroke Sir Gareth split the skull. 
Half fell to right and half to left and lay. 1370 

Then with a stronger buflfet he clove the helm 
As thoroughly as the skull ; and out from this 
Issued the bright face of a blooming boy 
Fresh as a flower new-born, and crying, " Knight, 



GARETH AND LYNETTE 8 1 

Slay me not : my three brethren bad me do it. 

To make a horror all about the house, 

And stay the world from Lady Lyonors. 

They never dreamM the passes would be past." 

Answer'd Sir Gareth graciously to one 

Not many a moon his younger, " My fair child, 1380 

What madness made thee challenge the chief knight 

Of Arthur's hall? " " Fair Sir, they bad me do it. 

They hate the King, and Lancelot, the King's friend. 

They hoped to slay him somewhere on the stream. 

They never dream'd the passes could be past." 

Then sprang the happier day from underground; 
And Lady Lyonors and her house, with dance 
And revel and song, made merry over Death, 
As being after all their foolish fears 

And horrors only proven a blooming boy. '1 390 

So large mirth lived and Gareth won the quest. 

And he that told the tale in older times 
Says that Sir Gareth wedded Lyonors, 
But he, that told it later, says Lynette. 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE IN THE ROMANCES. 

The name Lancelot du Lac is distinctively French, and it 
is to the genius of Walter Map that we probably owe the 
creation of this knight, generous and brave, whose passions 
are made more human by contrast with the almost divine 
character of Arthur. He is the embodiment of the twelfth- 
century ideal of knighthood. 

According to Map, whose version Malory has followed 
closely, Lancelot is the son of Ban, King of Brittany, who, 
being attacked by enemies, is obliged to flee from his cas- 
tle with his wife and infant son Lancelot. In the flight, 
he dies, and the queen, leaving for a moment her infant 
while she cares for her dying husband, returns to find the 
child in the arms of the fairy Vivien, who on the approach 
of the queen suddenly springs with it into a deep lake and 
disappears. Hence the child is called Lancelot du Lac. 
When Lancelot is grown to manhood, Vivien takes him to 
Arthur's court that he may be made a knight. Here Lance- 
lot meets Guinevere, whose beauty fascinates him, while 
she is at once impressed with his manly strength and chiv- 
alrous courtesy. Thus begins that fatal love which was 
destined to blight their own happiness and draw into com- 
mon ruin with them the noble and confiding king. 

Malory tells us of two different Elaines. The first is 
the daughter of King Pelles. There has been a prophecy 
that she shall marry Lancelot; but although King Pelles 
urges it strongly, Lancelot refuses the marriage, and in 
order to accomplish it magic is resorted to, and Lancelot, 
unknowing, marries Elaine. Their son is the famous Sir 
Galahad the pure, to whom alone of Arthur's knights is it 

82 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE IN THE ROMANCES. 83 

granted to see the Holy Grail unveiled. This Elaine dies 
soon, and Lancelot is released from the enchantment. This 
episode Tennyson does not mention at all in his *' Idylls." 

The second Elaine is Elaine la Blanche, the lily maid of 
Astolat, as Tennyson calls her. To tell her story accord- 
ing to the romance would be merely to give a condensed 
prose form of Tennyson's exquisite poem, for the poet has 
reproduced the romance with most exact fidelity, even 
using the precise words oftentimes. In only three trifling 
points does he vary from it. Malory has Sir Tirre (Torre) 
write the letter for Elaine, Sir Lavaine having gone with 
Lancelot as squire. He has the letter placed in her right 
hand instead of in the left, and he has Guinevere, not Ar- 
thur, first discover the letter. 

The story of the diamonds offered as prizes at the jousts, 
and the scene where Queen Guinevere in jealous anger 
throws the diamonds from the window, are not to be found 
in the romance. The old dumb servitor does not appear 
in Malory. 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE. 



Elaine the fair, Elaine the lovable, 
Elaine, the lily maid of Astolat, 
High in her chamber up a tower to the east 
Guarded the sacred shield of Lancelot; 
Which first she placed where morning's earliest ray 
Might strike it, and awake her with the gleam; 
Then fearing rust or soilure fashion'd for it 
A case of silk, and braided thereupon 
All the devices blazon'd on the shield 
In their own tinct, and added, of her wit, 
A border fantasy of branch and flower, 
And yellow-throated nestling in the nest. 
Nor rested thus content, but day by day, 
Leaving her household and good father, climb'd 
That eastern tower, and entering barr'd her door, 
Stript off the case, and read the naked shield. 
Now guess'd a hidden meaning in his arms. 
Now made a pretty history to herself 
Of every dint a sword had beaten in it, 
And every scratch a lance had made upon it, 
Conjecturing when and where: this cut is fresh; 
That ten years back ; this dealt him at Caerlyle ; 
That at Caerleon ; this at Camelot : 
And ah God's mercy, what a stroke was there ! 
And here a thrust that might have kill'd, but God 
Broke the strong lance, and roU'd his enemy down, 
And saved him: so she lived in fantasy. 

84 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE. 85 

How came the lily maid by that good shield 
Of Lancelot, she that knew not ev'n his name? 
He left it with her, when he rode to tilt 30 

For the great diamond in the diamond jousts. 
Which Arthur had ordain'd, and by that name 
Had named them, since a diamond was the prize. 

For Arthur, long before they crown'd him King, 
Roving the trackless realms of Lyonnesse, 
Had found a glen, gray bowlder and black tarn. 
A horror lived about the tarn, and clave 
Like its own mists to all the mountain-side: 
For here two brothers, one a king, had met 
And fought together; but their names were lost; 40 

And each had slain his brother at a blow ; 
And down they fell and made the glen abhorr'd: 
And there they lay till all their bones were bleach'd. 
And lichen'd into color with the crags: 
And he, that once was king, had on a crown 
Of diamonds, one in front and four aside. 
And Arthur came, and laboring up the pass, 
All in a misty moonshine, unawares 
Had trodden that crown'd skeleton, and the skull 
Brake from the nape, and from the skull the crown 50 
Roll'd into light, and turning on its rims 
Fled like a glittering rivulet to the tarn: 
And down the shingly scaur he plunged, and caught, 
And set it on his head, and in his heart 
Heard murmurs, " Lo, thou likewise shalt be King/' 

Thereafter, when a King, he had the gems 
Pluck'd from the crown, and show'd them to his knights, 
Saying, " These jewels, whereupon I chanced 
Divinely, are the kingdom's, not the King's — 
For public use : henceforward let there be, 60 



86 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Once every year, a joust for one of these: 

For so by nine years' proof we needs must learn 

Which is our mightiest, and ourselves shall grow 

In use of arms and manhood, till we drive 

The heathen, who, some say, shall rule the land 

Hereafter, which God hinder." Thus he spoke: 

And eight years past, eight jousts had been, and still 

Had Lancelot won the diamond of the year. 

With purpose to present them to the Queen, 

When all were won; but meaning all at once 70 

To snare her royal fancy with a boon 

Worth half her realm, had never spoken word. 

Now for the central diamond and the last 
And largest, Arthur, holding then his court 
Hard on the river nigh the place which now 
Is this world's hugest, let proclaim a joust 
At Camelot, and when the time drew nigh 
Spake (for she had been sick) to Guinevere, 
** Are you so sick, my Queen, you cannot move 
To these fair jousts?" "Yea, lord," she said, "ye know 
it." 80 

" Then will ye miss," he answer'd, " the great deeds 
Of Lancelot, and his prowess in the lists, 
A sight ye love to look on." And the Queen 
Lifted her eyes, and they dwelt languidly 
On Lancelot, where he stood beside the King. 
He thinking that he read her meaning there, 
" Stay with me, I am sick ; my love is more 
Than many diamonds," yielded; and a heart 
Love-loyal to the least wish of the Queen 
(However much he yearn'd to make complete 90 

The tale of diamonds for his destined boon) 
Urged him to speak against the truth, and say, 
** Sir King, mine ancient wound is hardly whole, 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE, 8/ 

And lets me from the saddle ; " and the King 
Glanced first at him, then her, and went his way. 
No sooner gone than suddenly she began: 

" To blame, my lord Sir Lancelot, much to blame ! 
Why go ye not to these fair jousts? the knights 
Are half of them our enemies, and the crowd 
Will murmur, * Lo the shameless ones, who take loo 

Their pastime now the trustful King is gone ! ' " 
Then Lancelot vext at having lied in vain: 
" Are ye so wise ? ye were not once so wise. 
My Queen, that summer, when ye loved me first. 
Then of the crowd ye took no more account 
Than of the myriad cricket of the mead, 
When its own voice clings to each blade of grass. 
And every voice is nothing. As to knights, 
Them surely can I silence with all ease. 
But now my loyal worship is allow'd no 

Of all men: many a bard, without offence, 
Has link'd our names together in his lay, 
Lancelot, the flower of bravery, Guinevere, 
The pearl of beauty: and our knights at feast 
Have pledged us in this union, while the King 
Would listen smiling. How then? is there more? 
Has Arthur spoken aught? or would yourself, 
Now weary of my service and devoir, 
Henceforth be truer to your faultless lord ? " 

She broke into a little scornful laugh: 120 

** Arthur, my lord, Arthur, the faultless King, 
That passionate perfection, my good lord — 
But who can gaze upon the Sun in heaven? 
He never spake word of reproach to me, 
He never had a glimpse of mine untruth, 
He cares not for me: only here to-day 



«« IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

There gleam'd a vague suspicion in his eyes: 

Some meddhng rogue has tamper'd with him — else 

Rapt in this fancy of his Table Round, 

And swearing men to vows impossible, 130 

To make them like himself: but, friend, to me 

He is all fault who has no fault at all: 

For who loves me must have a touch of earth ; 

The low sun makes the color: I am yours. 

Not Arthur's, as ye know, save by the bond. 

And therefore hear my words: go to the jousts: 

The tiny-trumpeting gnat can break our dream 

When sweetest; and the vermin voices here 

May buzz so loud — we scorn them, but they sting." 

Then answer'd Lancelot, the chief of knights: 140 

" And with what face, after my pretext made. 
Shall I appear, O Queen, at Camelot, I 
Before a King who honors his own word. 
As if it were his God's ? " 

" Yea," said the Queen, 
" A moral child without the craft to rule. 
Else had he not lost me : but listen to me, 
If I must find you wit: we hear it said 
That men go down before your spear at a touch. 
But knowing you are Lancelot; your great name. 
This conquers: hide it therefore; go unknown: 150 

Win ! by this kiss you will : and our true King 
Will then allow your pretext, O my knight, 
As all for glory ; for to speak him true. 
Ye know right well, how meek soe'er he seem. 
No keener hunter after glory breathes. 
He loves it in his knights more than himself: 
They prove to him his work: win and return." 



LANCELOT AND ELALNE. 89 

Then got Sir Lancelot suddenly to horse, 
Wroth at himself. Not willing to be known, 
He left the barren-beaten thoroughfare, 160 

Chose the green path that show'd the rarer foot, 
And there among the solitary downs, 
Full often lost in fancy, lost his way ; 
Till as he traced a faintly-shadow'd track, 
That all in loops and links among the dales 
Ran to the Castle of Astolat, he saw 
Fired from the west, far on a hill, the towers. 
Thither he made, and blew the gateway horn. 
Then came an old, dumb, myriad-wrinkled man 
Who let him into lodging and disarm'd. 170 

x\nd Lancelot marvell'd at the wordless man; 
And issuing found the Lord of Astolat 
With two strong sons. Sir Torre and Sir Lavaine, 
Moving to meet him in the castle court; 
And close behind them stept the lily maid 
Elaine, his daughter : mother of the house 
There was not : some light jest among them rose 
With laughter dying down as the great knight 
Approach'd them: then the Lord of Astolat: 
** Whence comest thou, my guest, and by what name 180 
Livest between the lips? for by thy state 
And presence I might guess the chief of those, 
After the King, who eat in Arthur's halls. 
Him have I seen : the rest, his Table Round, 
Known as they are, to me they are unknown." 

Then answer'd Lancelot, the chief of knights : 
" Known am I, and of Arthur's hall, and known. 
What I by mere mischance have brought, my shield. 
But since I go to joust as one unknown 
At Camelot for the diamond, ask me not, 190 

Hereafter ye shall know me — and the shield — 



90 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

I pray you lend me one, if such you have, 
Blank, or at least with some device not mine." 

Then said the Lord of Astolat, " Here is Torre's : 
Hurt in his first tilt was my son, Sir Torre; 
And so, God wot, his shield is blank enough. 
His ye can have." Then added plain Sir Torre, 
" Yea, since I cannot use it, ye may have it." 
Here laugh'd the father saying, " Fie, Sir Churl, 
Is that an answer for a noble knight? 200 

Allow him ! but Lavaine, my younger here, 
He is so full of lustihood, he will ride. 
Joust for it, and win, and bring it in an hour, 
And set it in this damsel's golden hair. 
To make her thrice as wilful as before." 

" Nay, father, nay, good father, shame me not 
Before this noble knight," said young Lavaine, 
" For nothing. Surely I but play'd on Torre : 
He seem'd so sullen, vext he could not go: 
A jest, no more! for, knight, the maiden dreamt 210 

That some one put this diamond in her hand. 
And that it was too slippery to be held, 
And slipt and fell into some pool or stream. 
The castle-well, belike; and then I said 
That if I went and if I fought and won it 
(But all was jest and joke among ourselves) 
Then must she keep it safelier. All was jest. 
But, father, give me leave, an if he will. 
To ride to Camelot with this noble knight: 
Win shall I not, but do my best to win: 220 

Young as I am, yet would I do my best." 

" So ye will grace me," answer'd Lancelot, 
Smiling a moment, " with your fellowship 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE. 9 1 

O'er these waste downs whereon I lost myself, 

Then were I glad of you as guide and friend: 

And you shall win this diamond, — as I hear, 

It is a fair large diamond, — if ye may, 

And yield it to this maiden, if ye will." 

" A fair large diamond," added plain Sir Torre, 

" Such be for queens, and not for simple maids." 230 

Then she, who held her eyes upon the ground, 

Elaine, and heard her name so tost about, 

Flush'd slightly at the slight disparagement 

Before the stranger knight, who, looking at her. 

Full courtly, yet not falsely, thus return'd: 

" If what is fair be but for what is fair. 

And only queens are to be counted so, 

Rash were my judgment then, who deem this maid 

Might wear as fair a jewel as is on earth. 

Not violating the bond of like to like." 240 

He spoke and ceased: the lily maid Elaine, 
Won by the mellow voice before she look'd. 
Lifted her eyes, and read his lineaments. 
The great and guilty love he bare the Queen, 
In battle with the love he bare his lord, 
Had marr'd his face, and mark'd it ere his time. 
Another sinning on such heights with one. 
The flower of all the west and all the world. 
Had been the sleeker for it ; but in him 
His mood was often like a fiend, and rose 250 

And drove him into wastes and solitudes 
For agony, who was yet a living soul. 
Marr'd as he was, he seem'd the goodliest man 
That ever among ladies ate in hall, 
And noblest, when she lifted up her eyes. 
However marr'd, of more than twice her years, 
Seam'd with an ancient swordcut on the cheek, 



92 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

And bruised and bronzed, she lifted up her eyes 
And loved him, with that love which was her doom. 



Then the great knight, the darling of the court, 260 

Loved of the loveliest, into that rude hall 
Stept with all grace, and not with half disdain 
Hid under grace, as in a smaller time. 
But kindly man moving among his kind: 
Whom they with meats and vintage of their best 
And talk and minstrel melody entertain'd. 
And much they ask'd of court and Table Round, 
And ever well and readily answer'd he : 
But Lancelot, when they glanced at Guinevere, 
Suddenly speaking of the wordless man, 270 

Heard from the Baron that, ten years before. 
The heathen caught and reft him of his tongue. 
** He learnt and warn'd me of their fierce design 
Against my house, and him they caught and maim'd ; 
But I, my sons, and little daughter fled 
From bonds or death, and dwelt among the woods 
By the great river in a boatman's hut. 
Dull days were those, till our good Arthur broke 
The Pagan yet once more on Badon hill." 

" O there, great lord, doubtless," Lavaine said, rapt 280 
By all the sweet and sudden passion of youth 
Toward greatness in its elder, '* you have fought. 
O tell us — for we live apart — you know 
Of Arthur's glorious wars." And Lancelot spoke 
And answer'd him at full, as having been 
With Arthur in the fight which all day long 
Rang by the white mouth of the violent Glem ; 
And in the four loud battles by the shore 
Of Duglas ; that on Bassa ; then the war 
That thunder'd in and out the gloomy skirts 290 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE. 93 

Of Celidon the forest ; and again 

By castle Gurnion, where the glorious King 

Had on his cuirass worn our Lady's Head, 

Carved of one emerald center'd in a sun 

Of silver rays, that lighten'd as he breathed; 

And at Caerleon had he help'd his lord. 

When the strong neighings of the wild White Horse 

Set every gilded parapet shuddering; 

And up in Agned-Cathregonion too, 

And down the waste sand-shores of Trath Treroit, ' 300 

Where many a heathen fell ; " and on the mount 

Of Badon I myself beheld the King 

Charge at the head of all his Table Round, 

And all his legions crying Christ and him, 

And break them; and I saw him, after, stand 

High on a heap of slain, from spur to plume 

Red as the rising sun with heathen blood, 

And seeing me, with a great voice he cried, 

* They are broken, they are broken ! ' for the King, 

However mild he seems at home, nor cares 310 

For triumph in our mimic wars, the jousts — 

For if his own knight cast him down, he laughs 

Saying, his knights are better men than he — 

Yet in this heathen war the fire of God 

Fills him : I never saw his like : there lives 

No greater leader." 

While he utter'd this, 
Low to her own heart said the lily maid, 
** Save your great self, fair lord : " and when he fell 
From talk of war to traits of pleasantry — 
Being mirthful he, but in a stately kind — 320 

She still took note that when the living smile 
Died from his lips, across him came a cloud 
Of melancholy severe, from which again, 
Whenever in her hovering to and fro 



94 IDYLLS OF TILE KING. 

The lily maid had striven to make him cheer, 

There brake a sudden-beaming tenderness 

Of manners and of nature : and she thought 

That all was nature, all, perchance, for her. 

And all night long his face before her lived, 

As v^hen a painter, poring on a face, 330 

Divinely thro' all hindrance finds the man 

Behind it, and so paints him that his face. 

The shape and color of a mind and life. 

Lives for his children, ever at its best 

And fullest; so the face before her lived. 

Dark-splendid, speaking in the silence, full 

Of noble things, and held her from her sleep. 

Till rathe she rose, half-cheated in the thought 

She needs must bid farew^cU to sweet Lavaine. 

First as in fear, step after step, she stole 340 

Down the long tower-stairs, hesitating: 

Anon, she heard Sir Lancelot cry in the court, 

"This shield, my friend, where is it?" and Lavaine 

Past inward, as she came from out the tower. 

There to his proud horse Lancelot turn'd, and smooth'd 

The glossy shoulder, humming to himself. 

Half-envious of the flattering hand, she drew 

Nearer and stood. He look'd, and more amazed 

Than if seven men had set upon him, saw 

The maiden standing in the dewy light. 350 

He had not dream'd she was so beautiful. 

Then came on him a sort of sacred fear, 

For silent, tho' he greeted her, she stood 

Rapt on his face as if it were a god's. 

Suddenly flash'd on her a wild desire, 

That he should wear her favor at the tilt. 

She braved a riotous heart in asking for it. 

" Fair lord, whose name I know not — noble it is, 

I well believe, the noblest — will you wear 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE. 95 

My favor at this tourney?" "Nay," said he, 360 

" Fair lady, since I never yet have worn 

Favor of any lady in the lists. 

Such is my wont, as those who know me know." 

" Yea, so," she answer'd ; " then in wearing mine 

Needs must be lesser likelihood, noble lord. 

That those who know should know you." And he turn'd 

Her counsel up and down within his mind. 

And found it true, and answer'd : " True, my child. 

Well, I will wear it : fetch it out to me : 

What is it?" and she told him "A red sleeve 370 

Broider'd with pearls," and brought it : then he bound 

Her token on his helmet, with a smile. 

Saying, '* I never yet have done so much 

For any maiden living," and the blood 

Sprang to her face and fiU'd her with delight ; 

But left her all the paler, when Lavaine 

Returning brought the yet-unblazon'd shield, 

His brother's; which he gave to Lancelot, 

Who parted with his own to fair Elaine: 

" Do me this grace, my child, to have my shield 380 

In keeping till I come." " A grace to me," 

She answer'd, ** twice to-day. I am your squire ! " 

Whereat Lavaine said, laughing, " Lily maid, 

For fear our people call you lily maid 

In earnest, let me bring your color back; 

Once, twice, and thrice: now get you hence to bed." 

So kiss'd her, and Sir Lancelot his own hand, 

And thus they moved away: she stay'd a minute, 

Then made a sudden step to the gate, and there — 

Her bright hair blown about the serious face 39c 

Yet rosy-kindled with her brother's kiss — 

Paused by the gateway, standing near the shield 

In silence, while she watch'd their arms far-off 

Sparkle, until they dipt below the downs. 



9^ IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Then to her tower she climb'd, and took the shield, 
There kept it, and so hved in fantasy. 

Meanwhile the new companions past away 
Far o'er the long backs of the bushless downs, 
To where Sir Lancelot knew there lived a knight 
Not far from Camelot, now for forty years 
A hermit, who had pray'd, labor'd and pray'd. 
And ever laboring had scoop'd himself 
In the white rock a chapel and a hall 
On massive columns, like a shorecliff cave, 
And cells and chambers : all were fair and dry ; 
The green light from the meadows underneath 
Struck up and lived along the milky roofs ; 
And in the meadows tremulous aspen-trees 
And poplars made a noise of falling showers. 
And thither wending there that night they bode. 

But when the next day broke from underground. 
And shot red fire and shadows thro' the cave, 
They rose, heard mass, broke fast, and rode away: 
Then Lancelot saying, " Hear, but hold my name 
Hidden, you ride with Lancelot of the Lake," 
Abash'd Lavaine, whose instant reverence. 
Dearer to true young hearts than their own praise. 
But left him leave to stammer, " Is it indeed ? " 
And after muttering " The great Lancelot," 
At last he got his breath and answer'd, " One, 
One have I seen — that other, our liege lord, 
The dread Pendragon, Britain's King of kings. 
Of whom the people talk mysteriously, 
He will be there — then were I stricken blind 
That minute, I might say that I had seen." 

So spake Lavaine, and when they reach'd the lists 
By Camelot in the meadow, let his eyes 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE, 97 

Run thro' the peopled gallery which half round 

Lay like a rainbow fall'n upon the grass, 

Until they found the clear-faced King, who sat 430 

Robed in red samite, easily to be known, 

Since to his crown the golden dragon clung, 

And down his robe the dragon writhed in gold, 

And from the carven-work behind him crept 

Two dragons gilded, sloping down to make 

Arms for his chair, while all the rest of them 

Thro' knots and loops and folds innumerable 

Fled ever thro' the woodwork, till they found 

The new design wherein they lost themselves. 

Yet with all ease, so tender was the work: 440 

And, in the costly canopy o'er him set. 

Blazed the last diamond of the nameless king. 

Then Lancelot answer'd young Lavaine and said, 
" Me you call great : mine is the firmer seat. 
The truer lance : but there is many a youth 
Now crescent, who will come to all I am 
And overcome it ; and in me there dwells 
No greatness, save it be some far-off touch 
Of greatness to know well I am not great : 
There is the man." And Lavaine gaped upon him 450 
As on a thing miraculous, and anon 
The trumpets blew ; and then did either side, 
They that assail'd, and they that held the lists, 
Set lance in rest, strike spur, suddenly move, 
Meet in the midst, and there so furiously 
Shock, that a man far-off might well perceive. 
If any man that day were left afield. 
The hard earth shake, and a low thunder of arms. 
And Lancelot bode a little, till he saw 

Which were the weaker ; then he hurl'd into it 460 

Agrainst the stronger: little need to speak 



9^ IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Of Lancelot in his glory! King, duke, earl. 
Count, baron — whom he smote, he overthrew. 

But in the field were Lancelot's kith and kin, 
Ranged with the Table Round that held the lists, 
Strong men, and wrathful that a stranger knight 
Should do and almost overdo the deeds 
Of Lancelot ; and one said to the other, " Lo ! 
What is he? I do not mean the force alone — 
The grace and versatility of the man ! 470 

Is it not Lancelot ? " " When has Lancelot worn 
Favor of any lady in the lists? 
Not such his wont, as we that know him know." 
" How then ? who then ? " a fury seized them all, 
A fiery family passion for the name 
Of Lancelot, and a glory one with theirs. 
They couch'd their spears and prick'd their steeds, and thus 
Their plumes driv'n backward by the wind they made 
In moving, all together down upon him 
Bare, as a wild wave in the wide North-sea, 480 

Green-glimmering toward the summit, bears, with all 
Its stormy crests that smoke against the skies, 
Down on a bark, and overbears the bark, 
And him that helms it, so they overbore 
Sir Lancelot and his charger, and a spear 
Down-glancing lamed the charger, and a spear 
Prick'd sharply his own cuirass, and the head 
Pierced thro' his side, and there snapt, and remain'd. 

Then Sir Lavaine did well and worshipfully ; 
He bore a knight of old repute to the earth, 490 

And brought his horse to Lancelot where he lay. 
He up the side, sweating with agony, got, 
But thought to do while he might yet endure, 
And being lustily holpen by the rest. 



LANCELOT AND ELALNE. 99 

His party, — tho' it seem'd half-miracle 

To those he fought with, — drave his kith and kin, 

And all the Table Round that held the lists, 

Back to the barrier; then the trumpets blew 

Proclaiming his the prize, who wore the sleeve 

Of scarlet, and the pearls ; and all the knights, 500 

His party, cried " Advance and take thy prize 

The diamond ; " but he answer'd, '' Diamond me 

No diamonds ! for God's love, a little air ! 

Prize me no prizes, for my prize is death ! 

Hence will I, and I charge you, follow me not." 

He spoke, and vanish'd suddenly from the field 
With young Lavaine into the poplar grove. 
There from his charger down he slid, and sat, 
Gasping to Sir Lavaine, '' Draw the lance-head : " 
"Ah my sweet lord Sir Lancelot," said Lavaine, 510 

" I dread me, if I draw it, you will die." 
But he, " I die already with it : draw — 
Draw," — and Lavaine drew, and Sir Lancelot gave 
A marvellous great shriek and ghastly groan, 
And half his blood burst forth, and down he sank 
For the pure pain, and wholly swoon'd away. 
Then came the hermit out and bare him in. 
There stanch'd his wound ; and there, in daily doubt 
Whether to live or die, for many a week 
Hid from the wide world's rumor by the grove 520 

Of poplars with their noise of falling showers, 
And ever-tremulous aspen-trees, he lay. 



But on that day when Lancelot fled the lists, 
His party, knights of utmost North and West. 
Lords of waste marches, kings of desolate isles, 
Came round their gi eat Pendragon, saying to him, 



lOO IDYLLS OF THE KING, 

" Lo, Sire, our knight, thro' whom we won the day, 

Hath gone sore wounded, and hath left his prize 

Untaken, crying that his prize is death." 

" Heaven hinder," said the King, '* that such an one, 530 

So great a knight as we have seen to-day — 

He seem'd to me another Lancelot — 

Yea, twenty times I thought him Lancelot — 

He must not pass uncared for. Wherefore, rise, 

Gawain, and ride forth and find the knight. 
Wounded and wearied, needs must he be near. 

1 charge you that you get at once to horse. 

And, knights and kings, there breathes not one of you 

Will deem this prize of ours is rashly given : 

His prowess was too wondrous. We will do him 540 

No customary honor: since the knight 

Came not to us, of us to claim the prize, 

Ourselves will send it after. Rise and take 

This diamond, and deliver it, and return. 

And bring us where he is, and how he fares. 

And cease not from your quest until ye find." 

So saying, from the carven flower above. 
To which it made a restless heart, he took. 
And gave, the diamond: then from where he sat 
At Arthur's right, with smiling face arose, 550 

With smiling face and frowning heart, a Prince 
In the mid might and flourish of his May, 
Gawain, surnamed The Courteous, fair and strong, 
And after Lancelot, Tristram, and Geraint 
And Gareth, a good knight, but therewithal 
Sir Modred's brother, and the child of Lot, 
Nor often loyal to his word, and now 
Wroth that the King's command to sally forth 
In quest of whom he knew not, made him leave 
The banquet, and concourse of knights and kings. 560 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE. 1 01 

So all in wrath he got to horse and went; 
While Arthur to the banquet, dark in mood, 
Past, thinking, " Is it Lancelot who hath come 
Despite the wound he spake of, all for gain 
Of glory, and hath added wound to wound, 
And ridd'n away to die ? " So fear'd the King, 
And, after two days' tarriance there, returned. 
Then when he saw the Queen, embracing ask'd, 
*' Love, are you yet so sick ? " '' Nay, lord," she said. 
" And where is Lancelot ? " Then the Queen amazed, 570 
" Was he not with you ? won he not your prize ? " 
" Nay, but one like him." " Why that Hke was he." 
And when the King demanded how she knew. 
Said, " Lord, no sooner had ye parted from us. 
Than Lancelot told me of a common talk 
That men went down before his spear at a touch, 
But knowing he was Lancelot ; his great name 
Conquer'd ; and therefore would he hide his name 
From all men, ev'n the King, and to this end 
Had made the pretext of a hindering wound, 580 

That he might joust unknown of all, and learn 
If his old prowess were in aught decay'd ; 
And added, * Our true Arthur, when he learns, 
Will well allow my pretext, as for gain 
Of purer glory.' " 

Then replied the King: 
" Far lovelier in our Lancelot had it been, 
In lieu of idly dallying with the truth. 
To have trusted me as he hath trusted thee. 
Surely his King and most familiar friend 
Might well have kept his secret. True, indeed, 590 

Albeit I know my knights fantastical. 
So fine a fear in our large Lancelot 
Much needs have moved my laughter: now remains 
But little cause for laughter: his own kin — 



I02 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Ill news, my Queen, for all who love him, this! — 9 

His kith and kin, not knowing, set upon him; 

So that he went sore wounded from the field: 

Yet good news too: for goodly hopes are mine 

That Lancelot is no more a lonely heart. 

He wore, against his wont, upon his helm 600 

A sleeve of scarlet, broider'd with great pearls. 

Some gentle maiden's gift." 

" Yea, lord," she said, 
" Thy hopes are mine," and saying that, she choked. 
And sharply turn'd about to hide her face. 
Past to her chamber, and there flung herself 
Down on the great King's couch, and writhed upon it. 
And clench'd her fingers till they bit the palm, 
And shriek'd out " Traitor ! " to the unhearing wall, 
Then flash'd into wild tears, and rose again. 
And moved about her palace, proud and pale. 610 

Gawain the while thro' all the region round 
Rode with his diamond, wearied of the quest, 
Touch'd at all points, except the poplar grove, 
And came at last, tho' late, to Astolat : 
Whom glittering in enamell'd arms the maid 
Glanced at, and cried, " What news from Camelot, lord ? 
What of the knight with the red sleeve? " " He won." 
" I knew it," she said. ** But parted from the jousts 
Hurt in the side," whereat she caught her breath ; 
Thro' her own side she felt the sharp lance go ; 620 

Thereon she smote her hand ; wellnigh she swoon'd ; 
And, while he gazed wonderingly at her, came 
The Lord of Astolat out, to whom the Prince 
Reported who he was, and on what quest 
Sent, that he bore the prize and could not find 
The victor, but had ridd'n a random round 
To seek him, and had wearied of the search. 



LANCELOT AND ELALNE. IO3 

To whom the Lord of Astolat, '' Bide with us, 
And ride no more at random, noble Prince! 
Here was the knight, and here he left a shield; 630 

This will he send or come for: furthermore 
Our son is with him; we shall hear anon. 
Needs must we hear." To this the courteous Prince 
Accorded with his wonted courtesy, 
Courtesy with a touch of traitor in it. 
And stay'd ; and cast his eyes on fair Elaine : 
Where could be found face daintier? then her shape, 
From forehead down to foot, perfect — again 
From foot to forehead exquisitely turn'd : 
" Well — if I bide, lo ! this wild flower for me ! '* 640 

And oft they met among the garden yews, 
And there he set himself to play upon her 
With sallying wit, free flashes from a height 
Above her, graces of the court, and songs, 
Sighs, and slow smiles, and golden eloquence 
And amorous adulation, till the maid 
Rebell'd against it, saying to him, '' Prince, 
O loyal nephew of our noble King, 
Why ask you not to see the shield he left. 
Whence you might learn his name? Why slight your 
King 650 

And lose the quest he sent you on, and prove 
No surer than our falcon yesterday. 
Who lost the hern we slipt her at, and went 
To all the winds ? " " Nay, by mine head," said he, 
" I lose it, as we lose the lark in heaven, 
O damsel, in the light of your blue eyes; 
But an ye will it let me see the shield." 
And when the shield was brought, and Gawain saw 
Sir Lancelot's azure lions, crown'd with gold, 
Ramp in the field, he smote his thigh, and mock'd : 660 
" Right was the King ! our Lancelot ! that true man ! " 



104 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

" And right was I," she answer'd merrily, '* I, 

Who dream 'd my knight the greatest knight of all." 

" And if / dream'd," said Gawain, *' that you love 

This greatest knight, your pardon! lo, ye know it! 

Speak therefore : shall I waste myself in vain ? " 

Full simple was her answer, '' What know I ? 

My brethren have been all my fellowship; 

And I, when often they hav€ talk'd of love, 

Wish'd it had been my mother, for they talk'd, 670 

Meseem'd, of what they knew not; so myself — 

I know not if I know what true love is, 

But if I know, then, if I love not him, 

I know there is none other I can love." 

" Yea, by God's death," said he, " ye love him well, 

But would not, knew ye what all others know, 

And whom he loves." " So be it," cried Elaine, 

And lifted her fair face and moved away: 

But he pursued her, calling, ** Stay a little ! 

One golden minute's grace! he wore your sleeve: 680 

Would he break faith with one I may not name? 

Must our true man change like a leaf at last ? 

Nay — like enow: why then, far be it from me 

To cross our mighty Lancelot in his loves ! 

And, damsel, for I deem you know full well 

Where your great knight is hidden, let me leave 

My quest with you; the diamond also: here! 

For if you love, it will be sweet to give it; 

And if he love, it will be sweet to have it 

From your own hand ; and whether he love or not 690 

A diamond is a diamond. Fare you well 

A thousand times! — a thousand times farewell! 

Yet, if he love, and his love hold, we two 

May meet at court hereafter: there, I think, 

So ye will learn the courtesies of the court, 

We two shall know each other." 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE. I05 

Then he gave, 
And slightly kiss'd the hand to which he gave, 
The diamond, and all wearied of the quest 
Leapt on his horse, and carolling as he went 
A true-love ballad, lightly rode away. 700 

Thence to the court he past; there told the King 
What the King knew, *' Sir Lancelot is the knight." 
And added, *' Sire, my liege, so much I learnt ; 
But fail'd to find him, tho' I rode all round 
The region: but I lighted on the maid 
Whose sleeve he wore ; she loves him ; and to her, 
Deeming our courtesy is the truest law, 
I gave the diamond : she will render it ; 
For by mine head she knows his hiding-place." 

The seldom-frowning King frown'd, and replied, 710 
" Too courteous truly ! ye shall go no more 
On quest of mine, seeing that ye forget 
Obedience is the courtesy due to kings." 

He spake and parted. Wroth, but all in awe. 
For twenty strokes of the blood, without a word. 
Lingered that other, staring after him; 
Then shook his hair, strode off, and buzz'd abroad 
About the maid of Astolat, and her love. 
All ears were prick'd at once, all tongues were loosed : 
" The maid of Astolat loves Sir Lancelot, 720 

Sir Lancelot loves the maid of Astolat." 
Some read the King's face, some the Queen's, and all 
Had marvel what the maid might be, but most 
Predoom'd her as unworthy. One old dame 
Came suddenly on the Queen with the sharp news. 
She, that had heard the noise of it before, 
But sorrowing Lancelot should have stoop'd so low, 



I06 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Marr'd her friend's aim with pale tranquiUity. 

So ran the tale like fire about the court, 

Fire in dry stubble a nine-days' wonder flared : 730 

Till ev'n the knights at banquet twice or thrice 

Forgot to drink to Lancelot and the Queen, 

And pledging Lancelot and the lily maid 

Smiled at each other, while the Queen, who sat 

With lips severely placid, felt the knot 

Climb in her throat, and with her feet unseen 

Crush'd the wild passion out against the floor 

Beneath the banquet, where the meats became 

As wormwood, and she hated all who pledged. 

But far away the maid in Astolat, 740 

Her guiltless rival, she that ever kept 
The one-day-seen Sir Lancelot in her heart. 
Crept to her father, while he mused alone. 
Sat on his knee, stroked his gray face and said, 
" Father, you call me wilful, and the fault 
Is yours who let me have my will, and now. 
Sweet father, will you let me lose my wits ? " 
" Nay," said he, " surely." " Wherefore, let me hence," 
She answer'd, " and find out our dear Lavaine." 
** Ye will not lose your wits for dear Lavaine : 750 

Bide," answer'd he : " we needs must hear anon 
Of him, and of that other." '* Ay," she said, 
** And of that other, for I needs must hence 
And find that other, whereso'er he be, 
And with mine own hand give his diamond to him. 
Lest I be found as faithless in the quest 
As yon proud Prince who left the quest to me. 
Sweet father, I behold him in my dreams 
Gaunt as it were the skeleton of himself, 
Death-pale, for lack of gentle maiden's aid. 'jdo 

The gentler-born the maiden, the more bound, 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE. I07 

• 

My father, to be sweet and serviceable 

To noble knights in sickness, as ye know, 

When these have worn their tokens : let me hence 

I pray you." Then her father nodding said, 

** Ay, ay, the diamond : wit ye well, my child. 

Right fain were I to learn this knight were whole, 

Being our greatest: yea, and you must give it — 

And sure I think this fruit is hung too high 

For any mouth to gape for save a queen's — 770 

Nay, I mean nothing: so then, get you gone, 

Being so very wilful you must go." 

Lightly, her suit allow'd, she slipt away, 
And while she made her ready for her ride, 
Her father's latest word humm'd in her ear, 
** Being so very wilful you must go," 
And changed itself and echo'd in her heart, 
" Being so very wilful you must die." 
But she was happy enough and shook it off. 
As we shake off the bee that buzzes at us ; 780 

And in her heart she answer'd it and said, 
'* What matter, so I help him back to life? " 
Then far away with good Sir Torre for guide 
Rode o'er the long backs of the bushless downs 
To Camelot, and before the city-gates 
Came on her brother with a happy face 
Making a roan horse caper and curvet 
For pleasure all about a field of flowers : 
Whom when she saw, *' Lavaine," she cried, " Lavaine, 
How fares my lord Sir Lancelot ? " He amazed, 790 

" Torre and Elaine ! why here ? Sir Lancelot ? 
How know ye my lord's name is Lancelot ? " 
But when the maid had told him all her tale, 
Then turn'd Sir Torre, and being in his moods 
Left them, and under the strange-statued gate, 



I08 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Where Arthur's wars were render'd mystically. 

Past up the still rich city to his kin, 

His own far blood, which dwelt at Camelot; 

And her Lavaine across the poplar grove 

Led to the caves : there first she saw the casque 800 

Of Lancelot on the wall : her scarlet sleeve, 

Tho' carved and cut, and half the pearls away, 

Stream'd from it still ; and in her heart she laugh'd. 

Because he had not loosed it from his helm. 

But meant once more perchance to tourney in it. 

And when they gain'd the cell wherein he slept, 

His battle-writhen arms and mighty hands 

Lay naked on the wolfskin, and a dream 

Of dragging down his enemy made them move. 

Then she that saw him lying unsleek, unshorn, 810 

Gaunt as it were the skeleton of himself, 

Utter'd a little tender dolorous cry. 

The sound not wonted in a place so still 

Woke the sick knight, and while he roU'd his eyes 

Yet blank from sleep, she started to him, saying, 

" Your prize the diamond sent you by the King : " 

His eyes glisten'd: she fancied ** Is it for me?" 

And when the maid had told him all the tale 

Of King and Prince, the diamond sent, the quest 

Assign'd to her not worthy of it, she knelt 820 

Full lowly by the corners of his bed, 

And laid the diamond in his open hand. 

Her face was near, and as we kiss the child 

That does the task assign'd, he kiss'd her face. 

At once she slipt like water to the floor. 

" Alas," he said, ** your ride hath wearied you. 

Rest must you have." " No rest for me," she said ; 

" Nay, for near you, fair lord, I am at rest." 

What might she mean by that? his large black eyes, 

Yet larger thro' his leanness, dwelt upon her, 830 



LANCELOT AMD ELALNE. lOQ 

Till all her heart's sad secret blazed itself 
In the heart's colors on her simple face; 
And Lancelot look'd and was perplext in mind. 
And being weak in body said no more ; 
But did not love the color; woman's love, 
Save one, he not regarded, and so turn'd 
Sighing, and feign'd a sleep until he slept. 

Then rose Elaine and glided thro' the fields, 
And past beneath the weirdly-sculptured gates 
Far up the dim rich city to her kin ; 840 

There bode the night ; but woke with dawn, and past 
Down thro' the dim rich city to the fields. 
Thence to the cave : so day by day she past 
In either twilight ghost-like to and fro 
Gliding, and every day she tended him, 
And likewise many a night: and Lancelot 
Would, tho' he call'd his wound a little hurt 
Whereof he should be quickly whole, at times 
Brain-feverous in his heat and agony, seem 
Uncourteous, even he: but the meek maid 850 

Sweetly forebore him ever, being to him 
Meeker than any child to a rough nurse, 
Milder than any mother to a sick child. 
And never woman yet, since man's first fall. 
Did kindlier unto man, but her deep love 
Upbore her; till the hermit, skill'd in all 
The simples and the science of that time. 
Told him that her fine care had saved his life. 
And the sick man forgot her simple blush. 
Would call her friend and sister, sweet Elaine, 860 

Would listen for her coming and regret 
Her parting step, and held her tenderly, 
And loved her with all love except the love 
Of man and woman when they love their best, 



I lO IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Closest and sweetest, and had died the death 

In any knightly fashion for her sake. 

And peradventure had he seen her first 

She might have made this and that other world 

Another world for the sick man ; but now 

The shackles of an old love straiten'd him, 870 

His honor rooted in dishonor stood. 

And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true. 

Yet the great knight in his mid-sickness made 
Full many a holy vow and pure resolve. 
These, as but born of sickness, could not live : 
For when the blood ran lustier in him again, 
Full often the bright image of one face, 
Making a treacherous quiet in his heart, 
Dispersed his resolution like a cloud. 

Then if the maiden, while that ghostly grace 880 

Beam'd on his fancy, spoke, he answer'd not. 
Or short and coldly, and she knew right well 
What the rough sickness meant, but what this meant 
She knew not, and the sorrow dimm'd her sight. 
And drave her ere her time across the fields 
Far into the rich city, where alone 
She murmur'd, '' Vain, in vain : it cannot be. 
He will not love me : how then ? must I die ? " 
Then as a little helpless innocent bird, 
That has but one plain passage of few notes, 890 

Will sing the simple passage o'er and o'er 
For all an April morning, till the ear 
Wearies to hear it, so the simple maid 
Went half the night repeating, " Must I die?" 
And now to right she turn'd, and now to left. 
And found no ease in turning or in rest ; 
And " Him or death," she mutter'd, " death or him," 
Again and like a burthen, " Him or death." 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE, III 

But when Sir Lancelot's deadly hurt was whole, 
To Astolat returning rode the three. 900 

There morn by morn, arraying her sweet self 
In that wherein she deem'd she look'd her best, 
She came before Sir Lancelot, for she thought 
'* If I be loved, these are my festal robes. 
If not, the victim's flowers before he fall." 
And Lancelot ever prest upon the maid 
That she should ask some goodly gift of him 
For her own self or hers ; " and do not shun 
To speak the wish most near to your true heart ; 
Such service have ye done me, that I make 910 

My will of yours, and Prince and Lord am I 
In mine own land, and what I will I can." 
Then like a ghost she lifted up her face, 
But like a ghost without the power to speak. 
And Lancelot saw that she w^ithheld her wish, 
And bode among them yet a little space 
Till he should learn it ; and one morn it chanced 
He found her in among the garden yews, 
And said, " Delay no longer, speak your wisli. 
Seeing I go to-day : " then out she brake : 920 

** Going? and we shall never see you more. 
And must I die for want of one bold word." 
" Speak : that I live to hear," he said, " is yours." 
Then suddenly and passionately she spoke: 
" I have gone mad. I love you : let me die." 
"Ah, sister," answer'd Lancelot, "what is this?" 
And innocently extending her white arms, 
" Your love," she said, " your love — to be your wife." 
And Lancelot answer'd, " Had I chosen to wed, 
I had been wedded earlier, sweet Elaine : 930 

But now there never will be wife of mine." 
" No, no," she cried, " I care not to be wife, 
But to be with you still, to see your face, 



112 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

To serve you, and to follow you thro' the world." 

And Lancelot answer'd, " Nay, the world, the world, 

All ear and eye, with such a stupid heart 

To interpret ear and eye, and such a tongue 

To blare its own interpretation — nay. 

Full ill then should I quit your brother's love. 

And your good father's kindness." And she said, c 

" Not to be with you, not to see your face — 

Alas for me then, my good days are done." 

*' Nay, noble maid," he answer'd, " ten times nay ! 

This is not love: but love's first flash in youth. 

Most common: yea, I know it of mine own self: 

And you yourself will smile at your own self 

Hereafter, when you yield your flower of life 

To one more fitly yours, not thrice your age : 

And then will I, for true you are and sweet, 

Beyond mine old belief in womanhood. 

More specially should your good knight be poor, 

Endow you with broad land and territory 

Even to the half my realm beyond the seas. 

So that would make you happy: furthermore, 

Ev'n to the death, as tho' ye were my blood. 

In all your quarrels will I be your knight. 

This will I do, dear damsel, for your sake, 

And more than this I cannot." 

While he spoke 
She neither blush'd nor shook, but deathly-pale 
Stood grasping what was nearest, then replied: 
" Of all this will I nothing ; " and so fell. 
And thus they bore her swooning to her tower. 

Then spake, to whom thro' those black walls of yew 
Their talk had pierced, her father : " Ay, a flash, 
I fear me, that will strike my blossom dead. 
Too courteous are ye, fair Lord Lancelot. 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE. II3 

I pray you, use some rough discourtesy 
To blunt or break her passion." 

Lancelot said, 

" That were against me : what I can I will ; " 

And there that day remain'd, and toward even 970 

Sent for his shield: full meekly rose the maid, 

Stript off the case, and gave the naked shield ; 

Then, when she heard his horse upon the stones, 

Unclasping flung the casement back, and look'd 

Down on his helm, from which her sleeve had gone. 

And Lancelot knew the little clinking sound; 

And she by tact of love was well aware 

That Lancelot knew that she was looking at him. 

And yet he glanced not up, nor waved his hand, 

Nor bade farewell, but sadly rode away. 980 

This was the one discourtesy that he used. 

^^ ^-' 
1 \ 

So in her tower alone the maiden sat : 

His very shield was gone; only the case. 

Her own poor work, her empty labor, left. 

But still she heard him, still his picture form'd 

And grew between her and the pictured wall. 

Then came her father, saying in low tones, 

" Have comfort," whom she greeted quietly. 

Then came her brethren saying, ** Peace to thee. 

Sweet sister," whom she answer'd with all calm. 990 

But when they left her to herself again. 

Death, like a friend's voice from a distant field 

Approaching thro' the darkness, call'd ; the owls 

Wailing had power upon her, and she mixt 

Her fancies with the sallow-rifted glooms 

Of evening, and the moanings of the wind. 



114 IDYLLS OF THE KING, 

And in those days she made a little song, 
And caird her song " The Song of Love and Death, 
And sang it: sweetly could she make and sing. 



" Sweet is true love tho' given in vain, in vain ; looo 

And sweet is death who puts an end to pain: 
I know not which is sweeter, no, not I. 

" Love, art thou sweet ? then bitter death must be : 
Love, thou art bitter ; sweet is death to me. 

Love, if death be sweeter, let me die. 

" Sweet love, that seems not made to fade away. 
Sweet death, that seems to make us loveless clay, 

1 know not which is sweeter, no, not L 

" I fain would follow love, if that could be ; 
I needs must follow death, who calls for me ; loio 

Call and I follow, I follow ! let me die." 

High with the last line scaled her voice, and this 
All in a fiery dawning wild with wind 
That shook her tower, the brothers heard, and thought 
With shuddering, " Hark the Phantom of the house 
That ever shrieks before a death," and call'd 
The father, and all three in hurry and fear 
Ran to her, and lo! the blood-red light of dawn 
Flared on her face, she shrilling, " Let me die! " 

As when we dwell upon a word we know, 1020 

Repeating, till the word we know so well 
Becomes a wonder, and we know not why, 



LANCELOT AND ELALNE. II5 

So dwelt the father on her face, and thought 

*' Is this Elaine ? " till back the maiden fell, 

Then gave a languid hand to each, and lay. 

Speaking a still good-morrow with her eyes. 

At last she said, ** Sweet brothers, yesternight 

I seem'd a curious little maid again, 

As happy as when we dwelt among the woods. 

And when ye used to take me with the flood 1030 

Up the great river in the boatman's boat. 

Only ye would not pass beyond the cape 

That had the poplar on it : there ye fixt 

Your limit, oft returning with the tide. 

And yet I cried because ye would not pass 

Beyond it, and far up the shining flood 

Until we found the palace of the King. 

And yet ye would not ; but this night I dream'd 

That I was all alone upon the flood. 

And then I said, * Now shall I have my will : ' 1040 

And there I woke, but still the wish remain'd. 

So let me hence that I may pass at last 

Beyond the poplar and far up the flood. 

Until I find the palace of the King. 

There will I enter in among them all, 

And no man there will dare to mock at me ; 

But there the fine Gawain will wonder at me. 

And there the great Sir Lancelot muse at me; 

Gawain, who bade a thousand farewells to me, 

Lancelot, who coldly went, nor bade me one : 1050 

And there the King will know me and my love. 

And there the Queen herself will pity me, 

And all the gentle court will welcome me, 

And after my long voyage I shall rest ! " 

" Peace," said her father, " O my child, ye seem 
Light-headed, for what force is yours to go 



Il6 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

So far, being sick? and wherefore would ye look 
On this proud fellow again, who scorns us all ? " 

Then the rough Torre began to heave and move, 
And bluster into stormy sobs and say, 1060 

" I never loved him : an I meet with him, 
I care not howsoever great he be. 
Then will I strike at him and strike him down. 
Give me good fortune, I will strike him dead. 
For this discomfort he hath done the house." 

To whom the gentle sister made reply, 
*' Fret not yourself, dear brother, nor be wroth. 
Seeing it is no more Sir Lancelot's fault 
Not to love me, than it is mine to love 
Him of all men who seems to me the highest." 1070 

" Highest ? " the father answer'd, echoing " highest " 
(He meant to break the passion in her), "nay, 
Daughter, I know not what you call the highest; 
But this I know, for all the people know it. 
He loves the Queen, and in an open shame: 
And she returns his love in open shame. 
If this be high, what is it to be low? " 

Then spake the lily maid of Astolat: 
" Sweet father, all too faint and sick am I 
For anger : these are slanders : never yet 1080 

Was noble man but made ignoble talk. 
He makes no friend who never made a foe. 
But now it is my glory to have loved 
One peerless, without stain : so let me pass, 
My father, howsoe'er I seem to you, 
Not all unhappy, having loved God's best 
And greatest, tho' my love had no return: 
Yet, seeing you desire your child to live. 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE. 1 17 

Thanks, but you work against your own desire; 

For if I could believe the things you say 1090 

I should but die the sooner; wherefore cease. 

Sweet father, and bid call the ghostly man 

Hither, and let me shrive me clean, and die." 

So when the ghostly man had come and gone 
She, with a face bright as for sin forgiven, 
Besought Lavaine to write as she devised 
A letter, word for word; and when he ask'd, 
" Is it for Lancelot, is it for my dear lord ? 
Then will I bear it gladly ; " she replied, 
" For Lancelot and the Queen and all the world, iioo 

But I myself must bear it." Then he wrote 
The letter she devised; which being writ 
And folded, " O sweet father, tender and true, 
Deny me not," she said — " ye never yet 
Denied my fancies — this, however strange. 
My latest : lay the letter in my hand 
A little ere I die, and close the hand 
Upon it ; I shall guard it even in death. 
And when the heat is gone from out my heart, 
Then take the little bed on which I died mo 

For Lancelot's love, and deck it like the Queen's 
For richness, and me also like the Queen 
In all I have of rich, and lay me on it. 
And let there be prepared a chariot-bier 
To take me to the river, and a barge 
Be ready on the river, clothed in black. 
I go in state to court, to meet the Queen. 
There surely I shall speak for mine own self. 
And none of you can speak for me so- well. 
And therefore let our dumb old man alone 2120 

Go with me, he can steer and row, and he 
Will guide me to that palace, to the doors." 



Il8 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

She ceased: her father promised; whereupon 
She grew so cheerful that they deem'd her death 
Was rather in the fantasy than the blood. 
But ten slow mornings past, and on the eleventh 
Her father laid the letter in her hand, 
And closed the hand upon it, and she died. 
So that day there was dole in Astolat. 

But when the next sun brake from underground, 1 1 30 
Then, those two brethren slowly with bent brows 
Accompanying, the sad chariot-bier 
Past like a shadow thro' the field, that shone 
Full-summer, to that stream whereon the barge, 
Pall'd all its length in blackest samite, lay. 
There sat the lifelong creature of the house. 
Loyal, the dumb old servitor, on deck, 
Winking his eyes, and twisted all his face. 
So those two brethren from the chariot took 
And on the black decks laid her in her bed, 1 140 

Set in her hand a lily, o'er her hung 
The silken case with braided blazonings. 
And kiss'd her quiet brows, and saying to her 
" Sister, farewell forever," and again 
" Farewell, sweet sister," parted all in tears. 
Then rose the dumb old servitor, and the dead, 
Oar'd by the dumb, went upward with the flood — 
In her right hand the lily, in her left 
The letter — all her bright hair streaming down — 
And all the coverlid was cloth of gold 1 1 50 

Drawn to her waist, and she herself in white 
All but her face, and that clear-featured face 
'Was lovely, for she did not seem as dead. 
But fast asleep, and lay as tho' she smiled. 

That day Sir Lancelot at the palace craved 
Audience of Guinevere, to give ai last 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE. II9 

The price of half a realm, his costly gift, 

Hard-won and hardly won with bruise and blow, 

With deaths of others, and almost his own, 

The nine-years- fought-for diamonds: for he saw 1160 

One of her house, and sent him to the Queen 

Bearing his wish, whereto the Queen agreed 

With such and so unmoved a majesty 

She might have seem'd her statue, but that he, 

Low-drooping till he wellnigh kiss'd her feet 

For loyal awe, saw with a sidelong eye 

The shadow of some piece of pointed lace. 

In the Queen's shadow, vibrate on the walls. 

And parted, laughing in his courtly heart. 

All in an oriel on the summer side, 1170 

Vine-clad, of Arthur's palace toward the stream, 
They met, and Lancelot kneeling utter'd, " Queen, 
Lady, my liege, in whom I have my joy, 
Take, what I had not won except for you, 
These jewels, and make me happy, making them 
An armlet for the roundest arm on earth, 
Or necklace for a neck to which the swan's 
Is tawnier than her cygnet's : these are words : 
Your beauty is your beauty, and I sin 
In speaking, yet O grant my worship of it Ti8o 

Words, as we grant grief tears. Such sin in words, 
Perchance, we both can pardon: but, my Queen, 
I hear of rumors flying thro' your court. 
Our bond, as not the bond of man and wife, 
Should have in it an absoluter trust 
To make up that defect: let rumors be: 
When did not rumors fly? these, as I trust 
That you trust me in your own nobleness, 
I may not well believe that you believe." 



I20 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

While thus he spoke, half turn'd away, the Queen 1190 
Brake from the vast oriel-embowering vine 
Leaf after leaf, and tore, and cast them off, 
Till all the place whereon she stood was green; 
Then, when he ceased, in one cold passive hand 
Received at once and laid aside the gems 
There on a table near her, and replied : 

" It may be, I am quicker of belief 
Than you believe me, Lancelot of the Lake. 
Our bond is not the bond of man and wife. 
This good is in it, whatsoe'er of ill, 1200 

It can be broken easier. I for you 
This many a year have done despite and wrong- 
To one whom ever in my heart of hearts 
I did acknowledge nobler. What are these? 
Diamonds for me! they had been thrice their worth 
Being your gift, had you not lost your own. 
To loyal hearts the value of all gifts 
Must vary as the giver's. Not for me ! 
For her! for your new fancy. Only this 
Grant me, I pray you: have your joys apart. 1210 

I doubt not that however changed, you keep 
So much of what is graceful : and myself 
Would shun to break those bounds of courtesy 
In which as Arthur's Queen I move and rule: 
So cannot speak my mind. An end to this ! 
A strange one! yet I take it with Amen. 
So pray you, add my diamonds to her pearls ; 
Deck her with these; tell her, she shines me down: 
An armlet for an arm to which the Queen's 
Is haggard, or a necklace for a neck 1220 

O as much fairer — as a faith once fair 
Was richer than these diamonds — hers not mine — 
Nay, by the mother of our Lord himself, 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE. 'i'2.\ 

Or hers or mine, mine now to work my will — 
She shall not have them." 

Saying which she seized, 
And thro' the casement standing wide for heat, 
Flung them, and down they flash'd, and smote the stream. 
Then from the smitten surface flash'd, as it were. 
Diamonds to meet them, and they past away. 
Then while Sir Lancelot leant, in half disdain 1230 

At love, life, all things, on the window ledge. 
Close underneath his eyes, and right across 
Where these had fallen, slowly past the barge 
Whereon the lily maid of Astolat 
Lay smiling, like a star in blackest night. 

But the wild Queen, who saw not, burst away 
To weep and wail in secret; and the barge. 
On to the palace-doorway sliding, paused. 
There two stood arm'd, and kept the door; to whom. 
All up the marble stair, tier over tier, 1240 

Were added mouths that gaped, and eyes that ask'd 
" What is it ? " but that oarsman's haggard face, 
As hard and still as is the face that men 
Shap.e to their fancy's eye from broken rocks 
On some cliff-side, appall'd them, and they said, 
'' He is enchanted, cannot speak — and she. 
Look how she sleeps — the Fairy Queen, so fair! 
Yea, but how pale! what are they? flesh and blood? 
Or come to take the King to Fairyland? 
For some do hold our Arthur cannot die, 1250 

But that he passes into Fairyland." 

While thus they babbled of the King, the King 
Came girt with knights: then turn'd the tongueless man 
From the half-face to the full eye, and rose 



122 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

And pointed to the damsel, and the doors. 

So Arthur bade the meek Sir Percivale 

And pure Sir Galahad to uplift the maid; 

And reverently they bore her into hall. 

Then came the fine Gawain and wonder'd at her, 

And Lancelot later came and mused at her, 

And last the Queen herself, and pitied her: 

But Arthur spied the letter in her hand, 

Stoopt, took, brake seal, and read it; this was all: 

" Most noble lord. Sir Lancelot of the Lake, 
I, sometime call'd the maid of Astolat, 
Come, for you left me taking no farewell. 
Hither, to take my last farewell of you. 
I loved you, and my love had no return. 
And therefore my true love has been my death. 
And therefore to our Lady Guinevere, 
And to all other ladies, I make moan. 
Pray for my soul, and yield me burial. 
Pray for my soul thou too. Sir Lancelot, 
As thou art a knight peerless." 

Thus he read; 
And ever in the reading, lords and dames 
Wept, looking often from his face who read 
To hers which lay so silent, and at times, 
So touch'd were they, half-thinking that her lips, 
Who had devised the letter, moved again. 

Then freely spoke Sir Lancelot to them all: 
" My lord liege Arthur, and all ye that hear, 
Know that for this most gentle maiden's death 
Right heavy am I ; for good she was and true. 
But loved me with a love beyond all love 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE. 123 

In women, whomsoever I have known. 

Yet to be loved makes not to love again; 

Not at my years, however it hold in youth. 

I swear by truth and knighthood that I gave 

No cause, not willingly, for such a love: 

To this I call my friends in testimony, 1290 

Her brethren, and her father, who himself 

Besought me to be plain and blunt, and use. 

To break her passion, some discourtesy 

Against my nature: what I could, I did. 

I left her and I bade her no farewell ; 

Tho', had I dreamt the damsel would have died, 

I might have put my wits to some rough use, 

And help'd her from herself." 

Then said the Queen 
(Sea was her wrath, yet working after storm) 
" Ye might at least have done her so much grace, 1300 
Fair lord, as would have help'd her from her death." 
He raised his head, their eyes met and hers fell. 
He adding: 

" Queen, she would not be content 
Save that I wedded her, which could not be. 
Then might she follow me thro' the world, she ask'd ; 
It could not be, I told her that her love 
Was but the flash of youth, would darken down 
To rise hereafter in a stiller flame 
Toward one more worthy of her — then would I, 
More specially were he she wedded poor, 1310 

Estate them with large land and territory 
In mine own realm beyond the narrow seas, 
To keep them in all joyance : more than this 
I could not ; this she would not, and she died." 



124 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

He pausing, Arthur answer'd, " O my knight, 
It will be to thy worship, as my knight. 
And mine, as head of all our Table Round, 
To see that she be buried worshipfully." 

So toward that shrine which then in all the realm 
Was richest, Arthur leading, slowly went 1320 

The marshall'd Order of their Table Round, 
And Lancelot sad beyond his wont, to see 
The maiden buried, not as one unknown. 
Nor meanly, but with gorgeous obsequies. 
And mass, and rolling music, like a queen. 
And when the knights had laid her comely head 
Low in the dust of half- forgotten kings, 
Then Arthur spake among them, *' Let her tomb 
Be costly, and her image thereupon. 

And let the shield of Lancelot at her feet 1330 

Be carven, and her lily in her hand. 
And let the story of her dolorous voyage 
For all true hearts be blazon'd on her tomb 
In letters gold and azure ! " which was wrought 
Thereafter; but when now the lords and dames 
And people, from the high door streaming, brake 
Disorderly, as homeward each, the Queen, 
Who mark'd Sir Lancelot where he moved apart, 
Drew near, and sigh'd in passing, " Lancelot, 
Forgive me; mine was jealousy in love." 1340 

He answer'd with his eyes upon the ground, 
" That is love's curse ; pass on, my Queen, forgiven." 
But Arthur, who beheld his cloudy brows, 
Approach'd him, and with full affection said, 

" Lancelot, my Lancelot, thou in whom I have 
Most joy and most affiance, for I know 
What thou hast been in battle by my side, 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE. 12$ 

And many a time have watch'd thee at the tilt 

Strike down the lusty and long-practised knight, 

And let the younger and unskill'd go by 1350 

To win his honor and to make his name, 

And loved thy courtesies and thee, a man 

Made to be loved ; but now I would to God, 

Seeing the homeless trouble in thine eyes. 

Thou couldst have loved this maiden, shaped, it seems. 

By God for thee alone, and from her face. 

If one may judge the living by the dead. 

Delicately pure and marvellously fair, 

Who might have brought thee, now a lonely man 

Wifeless and heirless, noble issue, sons 1360 

Born to the glory of thy name and fame, 

My knight, the great Sir Lancelot of the Lake." 

Then answered Lancelot, " Fair she was, my King, 
Pure, as you ever wish your knights to be. 
To doubt her fairness were to want an eye, * 

To doubt her pureness were to want a heart — 
Yea, to be loved, if what is worthy love 
Could bind him, but free love will not be bound." 

" Free love, so bound, were freest," said the King. 
" Let love be free ; free love is for the best : 1370 

And, after heaven, on our dull side of death, 
What should be best, if not so pure a love 
Clothed in so pure a loveliness? yet thee 
She fail'd to bind, tho' being, as I think, 
Unbound as yet, and gentle, as I know." 

And Lancelot answer'd nothing, but he went, 
And at the inrunning of a little brook 
Sat by the river in a cove, and watch'd 



526 IDYLLS OF TILE KING. 

The high reed wave, and Hfted up his eyes 

And saw the barge that brought her moving down, 1380 

Far-off, a blot upon the stream, and said 

Low in himself, " Ah simple heart and sweet, 

Ye loved me, damsel, surely with a love 

Far tenderer than my Queen's. Pray for thy soul? 

Ay, that will I. Farewell too — now at last — 

Farewell, fair lily. ' Jealousy in love ? ' 

Not rather dead love's harsh heir, jealous pride? 

Queen, if I grant the jealousy as of love. 

May not your crescent fear for name and fame. 

Speak, as it waxes, of a love that wanes ? 1390 

Why did the King dwell on my name to me ? 

Mine own name shames me, seeming a reproach, 

Lancelot, whom the Lady of the Lake 

Caught from his mother's arms — the wondrous one 

Who passes thro' the vision of the night — 

She chanted snatches of mysterious hymns 

Heard pn the winding waters, eve and morn. 

She kiss'd me saying, ' Thou art fair, my child, 

As a king's son,' and often in her arms 

She bare me, pacing on the dusky mere. 1400 

Would she had drown'd me in it, where'er it be ! 

For what am I? what profits me my name 

Of greatest knight ? I fought for it, and have it : 

Pleasure to have it, none ; to lose it, pain ; 

Now grown a part of me : but what use in it ? 

To make men worse by making my sin known? 

Or sin seem less, the sinner seeming great? 

Alas for Arthur's greatest knight, a man 

Not after Arthur's heart! I needs must break 

These bonds that so defame me : not without 1410 

She wills it: would I, if she will'd it? nay, 

Who knows? but if I would not, then may God, 

I pray him, send a sudden Angel down 



LANCELOT AND ELAINE. \2'J 

To seize me by the hair and bear me far, 
And fling me deep in that forgotten mere, 
Among the tumbled fragments of the hills." 

So groaned Sir Lancelot in remorseful pain. 
Not knowing he should die a holy man. 



:^ 



THE HOLY GRAIL IN THE ROMANCE. 

To Walter Map must be given the credit of having introduced 
into the earher Arthurian legends the spiritual conception of the 
Holy Grail which his genius wove into the tales, transforming 
them into an allegory in which the old paganism is brought into 
the service of the Christian church. The Grail, a medieval 
symbol of the Holy Eucharist, becomes typical of salvation, 
and the Quest of the Holy Grail is the search for the eternal life. 
Thus the adventures and trials of Arthur's knights in their 
quest portray the temptations and labors that must be overcome 
by the Christian in his progress through this world; and although 
many must fail in the divine quest, yet it is better thus to fail 
than to succeed in some lower ideal. 

Galahad, son of the daughter of King Pelles and Lancelot, 
comes to Arthur's court and is knighted. At the Round Table 
he occupies the Siege Perilous and is thus proved to be the pure 
and maiden knight who is to accompUsh the Quest of the Holy 
Grail. Percivale, by whose lips Tennyson tells the story of the j 
Grail, is another only less holy who sees the vision and after a 
short return to the court retires to a monastery. A third knight, 
Bors, holy but not quite spotless and therefore typifying the 
union between the spiritual and the earthly, also sees the vision 
and comes back to his old place at the Round Table, a changed 
and sanctified man. Lancelot, Arthur's "mightiest," is doomed 
to failure because of his sinful life. His courage and hardihood 
avail naught in a service which requires humility, innocence, 
and faith. 

The legend of the Holy Grail as incorporated in the Morte 
Darthur is full of symbolism. The doctrines of the medieval 
church. Justification and Salvation by Faith, are shown triumph- 
ing over Temptation, Sin, and Death. Tennyson omits many 
of the allegorical episodes of the romance and alters others to fit 
his general plan, introducing in addition some which are original. 

128 



THE HOLY GRAIL. 



/■'VK-Arifv^ 



From noiseful arms, and acts of prowess done 

In tournament or tilt, Sir Percivale, 

Whom Arthur and his knighthood cali'd The Pure, 

Had pass'd into the silent life of prayer. 

Praise, fast, and alms; and leaving for the cowl 

The helmet in an abbey far away 

From Camelot, there, and not long after, died. 

And one, a fellow-monk among the rest, 
Ambrosius, loved him much beyond the rest, 
And honor'd him, and wrought into his heart lo 

A way by love that waken'd love within, 
To answer that which came: and as they sat 
Beneath a world-old yew-tree, darkening half 
The cloisters, on a gustful April morn ^ "^ 

That puff'd the swaying branches into smoke 
Above them, ere the summer when he died. 
The monk Ambrosius question'd Percivale: 



"M 



.'vi^wi^ 






"O brother, I have seen this yew-tree smoke, Ajl-vv^ 
Spring after spring, for half a hundred years: n-^^,^ 

For never have I known the world without, 20 

Nor ever stray'd beyond the pale: but thee, 
When first thou camest — such a courtesy 
Spake thro' the limbs and in the voice — I knew 
For one of those who eat in Arthur's hall ; 
For good ye are and bad, and like to coins, 
Some true, some light, but every one of you 

129 






I30 



IDYLLS OF THE KING. 



Stamp'd with the image of the King; and now 
Tell me, what drove thee from the Table Round, 
My brother? was it earthly passion crost? " 

''Nay," said the knight; "for no such passion mine. 30 

But the sweet vision of the Holy Grail 
Drove me from all vainglories, rivalries, 
And earthly heats that spring and sparkle out 
Among us in the jousts, while women watch 
Who wins, who falls; and waste the spiritual strength 
Within us, better offer'd up to Heaven." 

To whom the monk: "The Holy Grail!— I trust 
We are green in Heaven's eyes; but here too much 
We molder — as to things without I mean — 
Yet one of your own knights, a guest of ours, 40 

Told us of this in our refectory, 
But spake with such a sadness and so low 
We heard not half of what he said. What is it? 
The phantom of a cup that comes and goes?" 

"Nay, monk! what phantom?" answer 'd Percivale. 
"The cup, the cup itself, from which our Lord 
Drank at the last sad supper with his own. 
This, from the blessed land of Aromat — 
After the day of darkness, when the dead 

Went wandering o'er Moriah — the good saint, 50 

Arimathaean Joseph, journeying brought 
To Glastonbury, where the winter thorn 
Blossoms at Christmas, mindful of our Lord. 
And there awhile it bode; and if a man 
Could touch or see it, he was heal'd at once. 
By faith, of all his ills. But then the times 
Grew to such evil that the holy cup 
Was caught away to Heaven, and disappear'd." 



THE HOLY GRAIL. 13 1 

To whom the monk: "From our old books I know 
That Joseph came of old to Glastonbury, 60 

And there the heathen Prince, Arviragus, 
Gave him an isle of marsh whereon to build; 
And there he built with wattles from the marsh 
A little lonely church in days of yore. 
For so they say, these books of ours, but seem 
Mute of this miracle, far as I have read. 
But who first saw the holy thing to-day?" 

*'A woman," answer'd Percivale, "a nun, 
And one no further off in blood from me 

Than sister; and if ever holy maid 70 

With knees of adoration wore the stone, 
A holy maid; tho' never maiden glow'd. 
But that was in her earlier maidenhood. 
With such a fervent flame of human love. 
Which being rudely blunted, glanced and shot 
Only to holy things; to prayer and praise 
She gave herself, to fast and alms. And yet, 
Nun as she was, the scandal of the Court, 
Sin against Arthur and the Table Round, 

And the strange sound of an adulterous race, 80 

Across the iron grating of her cell 
Beat, and she pray'd and fasted all the more. 

"And he to whom she told her sins, or what 
Her all but utter whiteness held for sin, 
A man well-nigh a hundred winters old. 
Spake often with her of the Holy Grail, 
A legend handed down thro' five or six. 
And each of these a hundred winters old. 
From our Lord's time. And when King Arthur made 
His Table Round, and all men's hearts became 90 

Clean for a season, surely he had thought 



132 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

That now the Holy Grail would come again; 

But sin broke out. Ah, Christ, that it would come, 

And heal the world of all their wickedness ! 

'O Father!' ask'd the maiden, 'might it come 

To me by prayer and fasting? ' 'Nay,' said he, 

' I know not, for thy heart is pure as snow.' 

And so she pray'd and fasted, till the sun 

Shone, and the wind blew, thro' her, and I thought 

She might have risen and floated when I saw her. loo 

"For on a day she sent to speak with me. 
And when she came to speak, behold her eyes 
Beyond my knowing of them, beautiful, 

Beyond all knowing of them, wonderful, ., ; 

Beautiful in the light of holiness. 
And ' O my brother Percivale,' she said, 
'Sweet brother, I have seen the Holy Grail: 
For, waked at dead of night, I heard a sound 
As of a silver horn from o'er the hills 

Blown, and I thought, "It is not Arthur's use no 

To hunt by moonlight;" and the slender sound 
As from a distance beyond distance grew 
Coming upon me — O never harp nor horn, 
Nor aught we blow with breath, or touch with hand. 
Was like that music as it came; and then 
Stream'd thro' my cell a cold and silver beam, 
And down the long beam stole the Holy Grail, 
Rose-red with beatings in it, as if alive. 
Till all the white walls of my cell were dyed 
With rosy colors leaping on the wall; 120 

And then the music faded, and the Grail 
Past, and the beam decay'd, and from the walls 
The rosy quiverings died into the night. 
So now the Holy Thing is here again 
Among us, brother, fast thou too and pray. 



THE HOLY GRAIL. I33 

And tell thy brother knights to fast and pray, 

That so perchance the vision may be seen 

By thee and those, and all the world be heal'd.' 

"Then leaving the pale nun, I spake of this 
To all men; and myself fasted and pray'd 130 

Always, and many among us many a week 
Fasted and pray'd even to the uttermost, 
Expectant of the wonder that would be. 

"And one there was among us, ever moved 
Among us in white armor, Galahad. 
' God make thee good as thou art beautiful,* 
Said Arthur, when he dubb'd him knight; and none, 
In so young youth, was ever made a knight 
Till Galahad; and this Galahad, when he heard 
My sister's vision, fiU'd me with amaze; 140 

His eyes became so like her own, they seem'd 
Hers, and himself her brother more than I. 

"Sister or brother none had he; but some 
Call'd him a son of Lancelot, and some said 
Begotten by enchantment — chatterers they, 
Like birds of passage piping up and down. 
That gape for flies — we know not whence they come 
For when was Lancelot wanderingly lewd? 

"But she, the wan sweet maiden, shore away 
Clean from her forehead all that wealth of hair 150 

Which made a silken mat- work for her feet; 
And out of this she plaited broad and long 
A strong sword-belt, and wove with silver thread 
And crimson in the belt a strange device, 
A crimson grail within a silver beam; 
And saw the bright boy-knight, and bound it on him. 



134 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Saying, 'My knight, my love, my knight of heaven, 

O thou, my love, whose love is one with mine, 

I, maiden, round thee, maiden, bind my belt. 

Go forth, for thou shalt see what I have seen, i6o 

And break thro' all, till one will crown thee king 

Far in the spiritual city:' and as she spake 

She sent the deathless passion in her eyes 

Thro' him, and made him hers, and laid her mind 

On him, and he believed in her belief. 

''Then came a year of miracle: O brother, 
In our great hall there stood a vacant chair, 
Fashion'd by Merlin ere he past away. 
And carven with strange figures; and in and out 
The figures, like a serpent, ran a scroll 170 

Of letters in a tongue no man could read. 
And Merlin call'd it 'The Siege Perilous,' 
Perilous for good and ill; 'for there,' he said, 
'No man could sit but he should lose himself:' 
And once by misadvertence Merlin sat 
In his own chair, and so was lost; but he, 
Galahad, when he heard of Merlin's doom, 
Cried, 'If I lose myself, I save myself!' 

"Then on a summer night it came to pass, 
While the great banquet lay along the hall, 180 

That Galahad would sit down in Merlin's chair, 

"And all at once, as there we sat, we heard 
A cracking and a riving of the roofs. 
And rending, and a blast, and overhead 
Thunder, and in the thunder was a cry. 
And in the blast there smote along the hall 
A beam of light seven times more clear than day: 



THE HOLY GRAIL. 135 

And down the long beam stole the Holy Grail 

All over cover'd with a luminous cloud, 

And none might see who bare it, and it past. 190 

But every knight beheld his fellow's face 

As in a glory, and all the knights arose, 

And staring each at other like dumb men 

Stood, till I found a voice and sware a vow. 

"I sware a vow before them all, that I, 
Because I had not seen the Grail, would ride 
A twelvemonth and a day in quest of it, 
Until I found and saw it, as the nun 
My sister saw it; and Galahad sware the vow, 
And good Sir Bors, our Lancelot's cousin, sware, 200 

And Lancelot sware, and many among the knights, 
And Gawain sware, and louder than the rest." 

Then spake the monk Ambrosius, asking him, 
''What said the King? Did Arthur take the vow?" 

"Nay, for my lord," said Percivale, ''the King, 
Was not in hall: for early that same day. 
Scaped thro' a cavern from a bandit hold, 
An outraged maiden sprang into the hall 
Crying on help : for all her shining hair 

Was smear 'd with earth, and either milky arm 210 

Red-rent with hooks of bramble, and all she wore 
Torn as a sail that leaves the rope is torn 
In tempest: so the King arose and went 
To smoke the scandalous hive of those wild bees 
That made such honey in his realm. Howbeit 
Some little of this marvel he too saw. 
Returning o'er the plain that then began 
To darken under Camelot; whence the King 



136 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Look'd up, calling aloud, 'Lo, there! the roofs 

Of our great hall are roll'd in thunder-smoke! 220 

Pray Heaven, they be not smitten by the bolt.' 

For dear to Arthur was that hall of ours, 

As having there so oft with all his knights 

Feasted, and as the stateliest under heaven. 

''O brother, had you known our mighty hall, 
Which Merlin built for Arthur long ago! 
For all the sacred mount of Camelot, 
And all the dim rich city, roof by roof, 
Tower after tower, spire beyond spire. 

By grove, and garden-lawn, and rushing brook, 230 

CHmbs to the mighty hall that Merlin built. 
And four great zones of sculpture, set betwixt 
With many a mystic symbol, gird the hall: 
And in the lowest beasts are slaying men, 
And in the second men are slaying beasts, 

And on the third are warriors, perfect men, ^ 

And on the fourth are men with growing wings, 
And over all one statue in the mold 
Of Arthur, made by Merlin, with a crown. 
And peak'd wings pointed to the Northern Star. 240 

And eastward fronts the statue, and the crown 
And both the wings are made of gold, and flame 
At sunrise till the people in far fields. 

Wasted so often by the heathen hordes, ^^ 

Behold it, crying, 'We have still a King.' ■ 

''And, brother, had you known our hall within. 
Broader and higher than any in all the lands! 
Where twelve great windows blazon Arthur's wars. 
And all the light that falls upon the board 
Streams thro' the twelve great battles of our King. 250 

Nay, one there is, and at the eastern end. 



THE HOLY GRAIL. 137 

Wealthy with wandering lines of mount and mere, 

Where Arthur finds the brand Excalibur. 

And also one to the west, and counter to it, 

And blank: and who shall blazon it? when and how? — 

there, perchance, when all our wars are done, 
The brand Excalibur will be cast away. 

"I 
"So to this hall full quickly rode the King, 
In horror lest the work by Merlin wrought. 
Dreamlike, should on the sudden vanish, wrapt 260 

In unremorseful folds of rolling fire. 
And in he rode and up I glanced, and saw 
The golden dragon sparkling over all: 
And many of those who burnt the hold, their arms 
Hack'd and their foreheads grimed with smoke, and sear'd, 
Follow'd, and in among bright faces, ours. 
Full of the vision, prest: and then the King 
Spake to me, being nearest, 'Percivale,' 
(Because the hall was all in tumult — some 
Vowing, and some protesting), 'what is this?' 270 

"O brother, when I told him what had chanced, 
My sister's vision, and the rest, his face 
Darken'd, as I have seen it more than once, 
When some brave deed seem'd to be done in vain, 
Darken; and 'Woe is me, my knights,' he cried, 
'Had I been here, ye had not sworn the vow.' 
Bold was mine answer, ' Had thyself been here. 
My King, thou wouldst have sworn.' 'Yea, yea,' said he, 
'Art thou so bold and hast not seen the Grail?' 

"'Nay, lord, I heard the sound, I saw the light, 280 

But since I did not see the Holy Thing, 

1 sware a vow to follow it till I saw.' 



138 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

"Then when he ask'd us, knight by knight, if any 
Had seen it, all their answers were as one: 
'Nay, lord, and therefore have we sworn our vows/ 

"'Lo now,' said Arthur, 'have ye seen a cloud? 
What go ye into the wilderness to see? ' 

''Then Galahad on the sudden, and in a voice 
Shrilling along the hall to Arthur call'd, 

' But I, Sir Arthur, saw the Holy Grail, 290 

I saw the Holy Grail and heard a cry — 
"O Galahad, and O Galahad, follow me.'" 

*"Ah, Galahad, Galahad,' said the King, 'for such 
As thou art is the vision, not for these. 
The holy nun and thou have seen a sign — 
Holier is none, my Percivale, than she — 
A sign to maim this Order which I made. 
But ye, that follow but the leader's bell ' 
(Brother, the King was hard upon his knights) 
' Taliessin is our fullest throat of song, 300 

And one hath sung and all the dumb will sing. 
Lancelot is Lancelot, and hath overborne 
Five knights at once, and every younger knight, 
Unproven, holds himself as Lancelot, 
Till overborne by one, he learns — and ye, 
What are ye? Galahads? — no, nor Percivales ' 
(For thus it pleased the King to range me close 
After Sir Galahad); 'nay,' said he, 'but men 
With strength and will to right the wrong'd, of power 
To lay the sudden heads of violence flat, 310 

Knights that in twelve great battles splash'd and dyed 
The strong White Horse in his own heathen blood — 
But one hath seen, and all the blind will see. 
Go, since your vows are sacred, being made: 



THE HOLY GRAIL. I39 

Yet — for ye know the cries of all my realm 

Pass thro' this hall — how often, O my knights, 

Your places being vacant at my side, 

This chance of noble deeds will come and go 

Unchallenged, while ye follow wandering fires 

Lost in the quagmire! Many of you, yea most, 320 

Return no more: ye think I show myself 

Too dark a prophet : come now, let us meet 

The morrow morn once more in one full field 

Of gracious pastime, that once more the King, 

Before ye leave him for this Quest, may count 

The yet-unbroken strength of all his knights, 

Rejoicing in that Order which he made.' 

"So when the sun broke next from under ground, 
All the great table of our Arthur closed 

And clash'd in such a tourney and so full, 330 

So many lances broken — never yet 
Had Camelot seen the like, since Arthur came; 
And I myself and Galahad, for a strength 
Was in us from the vision, overthrew 
So many knights that all the people cried. 
And almost burst the barriers in their heat, 
Shouting, 'Sir Galahad and Sir Percivale!' 

"But when the next day brake from under ground — 
O brother, had you known our Camelot, 

Built by old kings, age after age, so old 340 

The King himself had fears that it would fall, 
So strange, and rich, and dim; for where the roofs 
Totter'd toward each other in the sky. 
Met foreheads all along the street of those 
Who watch'd us pass; and lower, and where the long 
Rich galleries, lady-laden, weigh'd the necks 
Of dragons clinging to the crazy walls, 



140 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Thicker than drops from thunder, showers of flowers 

Fell as we past; and men and boys astride 

On wyvern, lion, dragon, griffin, swan, 350 

At all the corners, named us each by name, 

Calling ' God speed ! ' but in the ways below 

The knights and ladies wept, and rich and poor 

Wept, and the King himself could hardly speak 

For grief, and all in middle street the Queen, 

Who rode by Lancelot, wail'd and shriek'd aloud, 

'This madness has come on us for our sins.' 

So to the Gate of the three Queens we came, 

Where Arthur's wars are render'd mystically. 

And thence departed every one his way. 360 

''And I was lifted up in heart, and thought 
Of all my late-shown prowess in the lists, 
How my strong lance had beaten down the knights, 
So many and famous names; and never yet 
Had Heaven appear'd so blue, nor earth so green. 
For all my blood danced in me, and I knew 
That I should light upon the Holy Grail. 

"Thereafter, the dark warning of our King, 
That most of us would follow wandering fires. 
Came Uke a driving gloom across my mind. 370 

Then every evil word I had spoken once. 
And every evil thought I had thought of old. 
And every evil deed I ever did. 
Awoke and cried, ' This Quest is not for thee.' 
And lifting up mine eyes, I found myself 
Alone, and in a land of sand and thorns. 
And I was thirsty even unto death; 
And I, too, cried, 'This Quest is not for thee.' 

''And on I rode, and when I thought my thirst 
Would slay me, saw deep lawns, and then a brook, 380 



THE HOLY GRAIL. 141 

With one sharp rapid, where the crisping white 

Play'd ever back upon the sloping wave, 

And took both ear and eye; and o'er the brook 

Were apple-trees, and apples by the brook 

Fallen, and on the lawns. *I will rest here,' 

I said, ^I am not worthy of the Quest;' 

But even while I drank the brook, and ate 

The goodly apples, all these things at once 

Fell into dust, and I was left alone, 

And thirsting, in a land of sand and thorns. 390 

"And then behold a woman at a door 
Spinning; and fair the house whereby she sat, 
And kind the woman's eyes and innocent, 
And all her bearing gracious; and she rose 
Opening her arms to meet me, as who should say, 
'Rest here;' but when I touch'd her, lo! she, too. 
Fell into dust and nothing, and the house 
Became no better than a broken shed, 
And in it a dead babe; and also this 
Fell into dust, and I was left alone. 400 

" And on I rode, and greater was my thirst. 
Then flash'd a yellow gleam across the world, 
And where it smote the plowshare in the field. 
The plowman left his plowing, and fell down 
Before it; where it glitter'd on her pail. 
The milkmaid left her milking, and fell down 
Before it, and I knew not why, but thought 
*The sun is rising,' tho' the sun had risen. 
Then was I ware of one that on me moved 
In golden armor with a crown of gold 410 

About a casque all jewels; and his horse 
In golden armor jewel'd everywhere: 
And on the splendor came, flashing me bHnd;^ 



142 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

And seem'd to me the Lord of all the world, 

Being so huge. But when I thought he meant 

To crush me, moving on me, lo! he, too, 

Open'd his arms to embrace me as he came, 

And up I went and touch'd him, and he, too, 

Fell into dust, and I was left alone 

And wearying in a land of sand and thorns. 420 

"And I rode on and found a mighty hill. 
And on the top, a city wall'd: the spires 
Prick'd with incredible pinnacles into heaven. 
And by the gateway stirr'd a crowd ; and these 
Cried to me climbing, 'Welcome, Percivale! 
Thou mightiest and thou purest among men ! ' 
And glad was I and clomb, but found at top 
No man, nor any voice. And thence I past 
Far thro' a ruinous city, and I saw 

That man had once dwelt there; but there I found 430 

Only one man of an exceeding age. 
'Where is that goodly company,' said I, 
'That so cried out upon me?' and he had 
Scarce any voice to answer, and yet gasp'd, 
'Whence and what art thou?' and even as he spoke 
Fell into dust, and disappear'd, and I \ 

Was left alone once more, and cried in grief, 
'Lo, if I find the Holy Grail itself 
And touch it, it will crumble into dust.' 

"And thence I dropt into a lowly vale, 440 

Low as the hill was high, and where the vale 
Was lowest, found a chapel, and thereby 

A holy hermit in a hermitage, . 

To whom I told my phantoms, and he said: ' f 



"'O son, thou hast not true humility, 
The highest virtue, mpther of them all; 



THE HOLY GRAIL. 



143 



For when the Lord of all things made Himself 

Naked of glory for His mortal change, 

"Take thou my robe," she said, ''for all is thine," 

And all her form shone forth with sudden light 450 

So that the angels were amazed, and she 

Follow'd Him down, and like a flying star 

Led on the gray-hair'd wisdom of the east; 

But her thou hast not known : for what is this 

Thou thoughtest of thy prowess and thy sins? 

Thou hast not lost thyself to save thyself 

As Galahad.' When the hermit made an end, 

In silver armor suddenly Galahad shone 

Before us, and against the chapel door 

Laid lance, and enter'd, and we knelt in prayer. 460 

And there the hermit slaked my burning thirst, 

And at the sacring of the mass I saw 

The holy elements alone; but he, 

'Saw ye no more? I, Galahad, saw the Grail, 

The Holy Grail, descend upon the shrine: 

I saw the fiery face as of a child 

That smote itself into the bread, and went; 

And hither am I come; and never yet 

Hath what thy sister taught me first to see. 

This Holy Thing, fail'd from my side, nor come 470 

Cover'd, but moving with me night and day. 

Fainter by day, but alw^ays in the night 

Blood-red, and sliding down the blacken'd marsh 

Blood-red, and on the naked mountain top 

Blood-red, and in the sleeping mere below 

Blood-red. And in the strength of this I rode. 

Shattering all evil customs everywhere, 

And past thro' Pagan realms, and made them mine. 

And clash 'd with Pagan hordes, and bore them down, 

And broke thro' all, and in the strength of this 480 

Come victor. But my time is hard at hand, 



144 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

And hence I go; and one will crown me king 
Far in the spiritual city; and come thou, too, 
For thou shalt see the vision when I go.' 

"While thus he spake, his eye, dwelling on mine, 
Drew me, with power upon me, till I grew 
One with him, to believe as he believed. 
Then, when the day began to wane, we went. 

''There rose a hill that none but man could climb, 
Scarr'd With a hundred wintry watercourses — 
Storm at the top, and when we gain'd it, storm 
Round us and death; for every moment glanced 
His silver arms and gloom 'd: so quick and thick 
The lightnings here and there to left and right 
Struck, till the dry old trunks about us, dead, 
Yea, rotten with a hundred years of death. 
Sprang into fire: and at the base we found 
On either hand, as far as eye could see, 
A great black swamp and of an evil smell, 
Part black, part whiten'd with the bones of men, 
Not to be crost, save that some ancient king 
Had built a way, where, link'd with many a bridge, 
A thousand piers ran into the great Sea. 
And Galahad fled along them bridge by bridge, 
And every bridge as quickly as he crost 
Sprang into fire and vanish'd, tho' I yearn'd 
To follow; and thrice above him all the heavens 
Open'd and blazed with thunder such as seem'd 
Shoutings of all the sons of God: and first 
At once I saw him far on thfe great Sea, 
In silver-shining armor starry-clear; 
And o'er his head the Holy Vessel hung 
Clothed in white samite or a luminous cloud. 
And with exceeding swiftness ran the boat, 



THE HOLY GRAIL, 145 

If boat it were — I saw not whence it came. 

And when the heavens open'd and blazed again 

Roaring, I saw him Hke a silver star — 

And had he set the sail, or had the boat 

Become a living creature clad with wings? 

And o'er his head the Holy Vessel hung 520 

Redder than any rose, a joy to me. 

For now I knew the veil had been withdrawn. 

Then in a moment when they blazed again 

Opening, I saw the least of little stars 

Down on the waste, and straight beyond the star 

I saw the spiritual city and all her spires 

And gateways in a glory like one pearl — 

No larger, tho' the goal of all the saints — 

Strike from the sea; and from the star there shot 

A rose-red sparkle to the city, and there 530 

Dwelt, and I knew it was the Holy Grail, 

Which never eyes on earth again shall see. 

Then fell the floods of heaven drowning the deep. 

And how my feet recrost the deathful ridge 

No memory in me lives; but that I touch'd 

The chapel-doors at dawn I know; and thence 

Taking my war-horse from the holy man. 

Glad that no phantom vext me more, return'd 

To whence I came, the gate of Arthur's wars.'* 

"O brother," ask'd Ambrosius, — "for in sooth 540 

These ancient books — and they would win thee — teem, 
Only I find not there this Holy Grail, 
With miracles and marvels like to these. 
Not all unhke; which often time I read. 
Who read but on my breviary with ease, 
Till my head swims; and then go forth and pass 
Down to the little thorpe that lies so close. 
And almost plaster'd like a martin's nest 



146 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

To these old walls — and mingle with our folk; 

And knowing every honest face of theirs 550 

As well as ever shepherd knev\^ his sheep, 

And every homely secret in their hearts, 

Delight myself with gossip and old wives. 

And ills and aches, and teethings, lyings-in, 

And mirthful sayings, children of the place, 

That have no meaning half a league away: 

Or lulling random squabbles when they rise, 

Chafferings and chatterings at the market-cross. 

Rejoice, small man, in this small world of mine, 

Yea, even in their hens and in their eggs — 560 

O brother, saving this Sir Galahad, 

Came ye on none but phantoms in your quest, 

No man, no woman?" 

Then Sir Percivale: 
"All men, to one so bound by such a vow. 
And women were as phantoms. O, my brother. 
Why wilt thou shame me to confess to thee 
How far I falter'd from my quest and vow? 
For after I had lain so many nights, 
A bedmate of the snail and eft and snake, 
In grass and burdock, I was changed to wan 570 

And meager, and the vision had not come; 
And then I chanced upon a goodly town 
With one great dwelling in the middle of it; 
Thither I made, and there was I disarm'd 
By maidens each as fair as any flower: 
But when they led me into hall, behold, 
The Princess of that castle was the one, 
Brother, and that one only, who had ever 
Made my heart leap; for when I moved of old 
A slender page about her father's hall, 580 

And she a slender maiden, all my heart 



THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 47 

Went after her with longing: yet we twain 

Had never kiss'd a kiss, or vow'd a vow. 

And now I came upon her once again, 

And one had wedded her, and he was dead, 

And all his land and wealth and state were hers. 

And while I tarried, every day she set 

A banquet richer than the day before 

By me; for all her longing and her will 

Was toward me as of old; till one fair morn, 590 

I walking to and fro beside a stream 

That flash'd across her orchard underneath 

Her castle- walls, she stole upon my walk. 

And caUing me the greatest of all knights. 

Embraced me, and so kiss'd me the first time, 

And gave herself and all her wealth to me. 

Then I remember'd Arthur's warning word, 

That most of us would follow wandering fires, 

And the Quest faded in my heart. Anon, 

The heads of all her people drew to me, 600 

With supplication both of knees and tongue: 

'We have heard of thee: thou art our greatest knight, 

Our Lady says it, and we well believe: 

Wed thou our Lady, and rule over us. 

And thou shalt be as Arthur in our land.' 

O me, my brother! but one night my vow 

Burnt me within, so that I rose and fled. 

But wail'd and wept, and hated mine own self, 

And ev'n the Holy Quest, and all but her; 

Then after I was join'd with Galahad 610 

Cared not for her, nor anything upon earth.'' 

Then said the monk, "Poor men, when yule is cold, 
Must be content to sit by little fires. 
And this am I, so that ye care for me 
Ever so little; yea, and blest be Heaven 



148 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

That brought thee here to this poor house of ours 

Where all the brethren are so hard, to warm 

My cold heart with a friend : but O the pity 

To find thine own first love once more — to hold, 

Hold her a wealthy bride within thine arms, 620 

Or all but hold, and then — cast her aside. 

Foregoing all her sweetness, like a weed. 

For we that want the warmth of double life. 

We that are plagued with dreams of something sweet 

Beyond all sweetness in a life so rich, — 

Ah, blessed Lord, I speak too earthlywise, 

Seeing I never stray'd beyond the cell. 

But live hke an old badger in his earth. 

With earth about him everywhere, despite 

All fast and penance. Saw ye none beside, 630 

None of your knights? " 

"Yea so," said Percivale: 
''One night my pathway swerving east, I saw 
The pelican on the casque of our Sir Bors 
All in the middle of the rising moon : 
And toward him spurr'd, and hail'd him, and he me, 
And each made joy of either; then he ask'd 
' Where is he? hast thou seen him — Lancelot? — Once,' 
Said good Sir Bors, 'he dash'd across me — mad. 
And maddening what he rode: and when I cried, 
"Ridest thou then so hotly on a quest 640 

So holy," Lancelot shouted, "Stay me not! 
I have been the sluggard, and I ride apace, 
For now there is a lion in the way." 
So vanish'd.' 

"Then Sir Bors had ridden on 
Softly, and sorrowing for our Lancelot, 
Because his former madness, once the talk 



THE HOLY GRAIL. 149 

And scandal of our table, had returned; 

For Lancelot's kith and kin so worship him 

That ill to him is ill to them; to Bors 

Beyond the rest: he well had been content 650 

Not to have seen, so Lancelot might have seen, 

The Holy Cup of healing; and, indeed, 

Being so clouded with his grief and love, 

Small heart was his after the Holy Quest: 

If God would send the vision, well: if not. 

The Quest and he were in the hands of Heaven. 

"And then, with small adventure met, Sir Bors 
Rode to the lonest tract of all the realm. 
And found a people there among their crags, 
Our race and blood, a remnant that were left 66r 

Paynim amid their circles, and the stones 
They pitch up straight to heaven: and their wise men 
Were strong in that old magic which can trace 
The wandering of the stars, and scoff 'd at him 
And this high Quest as at a simple thing: 
Told him he foUow'd — almost Arthur's words — • 
A mocking fire: 'what other fire than he. 
Whereby the blood beats, and the blossom blows, 
And the sea rolls, and all the world is warm'd? ' 
And when his answer chafed them, the rough crowd, 670 

Hearing he had a difference with their priests, 
Seized him, and bound and plunged him into a cell 
Of great piled stones; and lying bounden there 
In darkness thro' innumerable hours 
He heard the hollow-ringing heavens sweep 
Over him till by miracle — what else? — 
Heavy as it was, a great stone slipt and fell 
Such as no wind could move: and thro' the gap 
Glimmer'd the streaming scud : then came a night 
Still as the day was loud; and thro' the gap 680 



150 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

The seven clear stars of Arthur's Table Round — 

For, brother, so one night, because they roll 

Thro' such a round in heaven, we named the stars, ^ ; 

Rejoicing in ourselves and in our King — # 

And these, like bright eyes of familiar friends, 

In on him shone: 'And then to me, to me,' 

Said good Sir Bors, ' beyond all hopes of mine, 

Who scarce had pray'd or ask'd it for myself — 

Across the seven clear stars — O grace to me — 

In color hke the fingers of a hand 690 

Before a burning taper, the sweet Grail 

Glided and past, and close upon it peal'd 

A sharp quick thunder.' Afterwards a maid, 

Who kept our holy faith among her kin 

In secret, entering, loosed and let him go." 

To whom the monk: "And I remember now 
That pelican on the casque: Sir Bors it was 
Who spake so low and sadly at our board; 
And mighty reverent at our grace was he : 
A square-set man and honest; and his eyes, 700 

An out-door sign of all the warmth within, 
Smiled with his lips — a smile beneath a cloud. 
But heaven had meant it for a sunny one: 
Ay, ay. Sir Bors, who else? But when ye reach'd 
The city, found ye all your knights return 'd, 
Or was there sooth in Arthur's prophecy, 
Tell me, and what said each, and what the King?" 

Then answer'd Percivale: ''And that can I, 
Brother, and truly; since the living words 

Of so great men as Lancelot and our King 710 

Pass not from door to door and out again. 
But sit within the house. O, when we reach'd 
The city, our horses stumbling as they trode 



THE HOLY GRAIL. I51 

On heaps of ruin, hornless unicorns, 
Crack'd basiHsks, and spKnter'd cockatrices. 
And shatter'd talbots, which had left the stones 
Raw, that they fell from, brought us to the hall. 

"And there sat Arthur on the dais-throne. 
And those that had gone out upon the Quest, 
Wasted and worn, and but a tithe of them, 720 

And those that had not, stood before the King, 
Who, when he saw me, rose, and bade me hail. 
Saying, ' A welfare in thine eye reproves 
Our fear of some disastrous chance for thee 
On hill, or plain, at sea, or flooding ford. 
So fierce a gale made havoc here of late 
Among the strange devices of our kings; 
Yea, shook this newer, stronger hall of ours, 
And from the statue Merlin molded for us 
Half-wrench'd a golden wing; but now — the Quest, 730 

This vision — hast thou seen the Holy Cup, 
That Joseph brought of old to Glastonbury? ' 

"So when I told him all thyself hast heard, 
Ambrosius, and my fresh but fixt resolve 
To pass away into the quiet life. 
He answer'd not, but, sharply turning, ask'd 
Of Gawain, 'Gawain, was this Quest for thee?' 

"'Nay, lord,' said Gawain, 'not for such as I. 
Therefore I communed with a saintly man, 
Who made me sure the Quest was not for me; 740 

For I was much awearied of the Quest: 
But found a silk pavilion in a field. 
And merry maidens in it; and then this gale 
Tore my pavilion from the tenting-pin. 
And blew my merry maidens all about 



152 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

With all discomfort; yea, and but for this, 

My twelvemonth and a day were pleasant to me.' 

"He ceased; and Arthur turn'd to whom at first 
He saw not, for Sir Bors, on entering, push'd 
Athwart the throng to Lancelot, caught his hand, 750 

^Held it, and there, half-hidden by him, stood, 
Until the King espied him, saying to him, 
'Hail, Bors! if ever loyal man and true 
Could see it, thou hast seen the Grail ; ' and Bors, 
^Ask me not: for I may not speak of it, 
I saw it:' and the tears were in his eyes. 

"Then there remain'd but Lancelot, for the rest 
Spake but of sundry perils in the storm; 
Perhaps, like him of Cana in Holy Writ, 

Our Arthur kept his best until the last; 760 

'Thou, too, my Lancelot,' ask'd the King, 'my friend, 
Our mightiest, hath this Quest avail'd for thee? ' 

"'Our mightiest!' answer'd Lancelot, with a groan; 
'O King!' — and when he paused, methought I spied 
A dying fire of madness in his eyes — 
' O King, my friend, if friend of thine I be, 
Happier are those that welter in their sin. 
Swine in the mud, that cannot see for slime, 
Slime of the ditch : but in me lived a sin 

So strange, of such a kind, that all of pure, 770 

Noble, and knightly in me twined and clung 
Round that one sin, until the wholesome flower 
And poisonous grew together, each as each. 
Not to be pluck'd asunder; and when thy knights 
Sware, I sware with them only in the hope 
That could I touch or see the Holy Grail 
They might be pluck'd asunder. Then I spake 



THE HOLY GRAIL. 153 

To one most holy saint, who wept and said, 

That save they could be pluck'd asunder, all 

My quest were but in vain; to whom I vow'd 780 

That I would work according as he will'd 

And forth I went, and while I yearn'd and strove 

To tear the twain asunder in my heart. 

My madness came upon me as of old, 

And whipt me into waste fields far away; 

There was I beaten down by Httle men. 

Mean knights, to whom the moving of my sword 

And shadow of my spear had been enow 

To scare them from me once; and then I came 

All in my folly to the naked shore, 790 

Wide flats, where nothing but coarse grasses grew; 

But such a blast, my King, began to blow. 

So loud a blast along the shore and sea. 

Ye could not hear the waters for the blast, 

Tho' heapt in mounds and ridges all the sea 

Drove like a cataract, and all the sand 

Swept like a river, and the clouded heavens 

Were shaken with the motion and the sound. 

And blackening in the sea-foam sway'd a boat 

Half-swallow'd in it, anchor'd with a chain; 800 

And in my madness to myself I said, 

"I will embark and I will lose myself. 

And in the great sea wash away my sin." 

I burst the chain, I sprang into the boat. 

Seven days I drove along the dreary deep, 

And with me drove the moon and all the stars; 

And the wind fell and on the seventh night 

I heard the shingle grinding in the surge, 

And felt the boat shock earth, and looking up, 

Behold, the enchanted towers of Carbonek, 810 

A castle like a rock upon a rock, 

With chasm-Hke portals open to the sea. 



154 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

And steps that met the breaker! there was none 

Stood near it but a Hon on each side 

That kept the entry, and the moon was full. 

Then from the boat I leapt, and up the stairs. 

There drew my sword. With sudden-flaring manes 

Those two great beasts rose upright like a man, 

Each gript a shoulder, and I stood between ; 

And, when I would have smitten them, heard a voice, 820 

*' Doubt not, go forward; if thou doubt, the beasts 

Will tear thee piecemeal." Then with violence 

The sword was dash'd from out my hand, and fell. 

And up into the sounding hall I past; 

But nothing in the sounding hall I saw, 

No bench nor table, painting on the wall 

Or shield of knight; only the rounded moon 

Thro' the tall oriel on the rolling sea. 

But always in the quiet house I heard. 

Clear as a lark, high o'er me as a lark, 830 

A sweet voice singing in the topmost tower 

To the eastward: up I climb'd a thousand steps 

With pain: as in a dream I seem'd to climb 

For ever: at the last I reach'd a door, 

A light was in the crannies, and I heard, 

''Glory and joy and honor to our Lord 

And to the Holy Vessel of the Grail." 

Then in my madness I essay 'd the door; 

It gave; and thro' a stormy glare, a heat 

As from a seventimes-heated furnace, I, 840 

Blasted and burnt, and blinded as I was. 

With such a fierceness that I swoon'd away — 

O, yet methought I saw the Holy Grail, 

All pall'd in crimson samite, and around 

Great angels, awful shapes, and wings and eyes. 

And but for all my madness and my sin. 

And then my swooning, I had sworn I saw 



THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 55 

That which I saw; but what I saw was veil'd 
And cover'd; and this Quest was not for me.' 

''So speaking, and here ceasing, Lancelot left 850 

The hall long silent, till Sir Gawain — nay, 
Brother, I need not tell thee foolish words, — 
A reckless and irreverent knight was he, 
Now bolden'd by the silence of his King, — 
Well, I will tell thee: 'O King, my liege,' he said, 
'Hath Gawain fail'd in any quest of thine? 
When have I stinted stroke in foughten field? 
But as for thine, my good friend Percivale, 
Thy holy nun and thou have driven men mad. 
Yea, made our mightiest madder than our least. 860 

But by mine eyes and by mine ears I swear, 
I will be deafer than the blue-eyed cat, 
And thrice as blind as any noonday owl. 
To holy virgins in their ecstasies, 
Henceforward.' 

"'Deafer,' said the blameless King, 
' Gawain, and blinder unto holy things 
Hope not to make thyself by idle vows. 
Being too blind to have desire to see. 
But if indeed there came a sign from heaven. 
Blessed are Bors, Lancelot and Percivale, 870 

For these have seen according to their sight. 
For every fiery prophet in old times. 
And all the sacred madness of the bard. 
When God made music thro' them, could but speak 
His music by the framework and the chord; 
And as ye saw it ye have spoken truth. 

"'Nay — but thou errest, Lancelot: never yet 
Could all of true and noble in knight and man 



156 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Twine round one sin, whatever it might be, 
With such a closeness, but apart there grew, 
Save that he were the swdne thou spakest of. 
Some root of knighthood and pure nobleness; 
Whereto see thou, that it may bear its flower. 

"'And spake I not too truly, O my knights? 
Was I too dark a prophet when I said 
To those who went upon the Holy Quest, 
That most of them would follow wandering fires, 
Lost in the quagmire? — lost to me and gone, 
And left me gazing at a barren board, 
And a lean Order — scarce return'd a tithe — 
And out of those to whom the vision came 
My greatest hardly will believe he saw; 
Another hath beheld it afar off. 
And leaving human wrongs to right themselves, 
Cares but to pass into the silent life. 
And one hath had the vision face to face, 
And now his chair desires him here in vain. 
However they may crown him otherwhere. 

"'And some among you held, that if the King 
Had seen the sight he would have sworn the vow: 
Not easily, seeing that the King must guard 
That which he rules, and is but as the hind 
To whom a space of land is given to plow. 
Who may not wander from the allotted field 
Before his work be done; but, being done. 
Let visions of the night or of the day 
Come, as they will; and many a time they come, 
Until this earth he walks on seems not earth. 
This light that strikes his eyeball is not light. 
This air that smites his forehead is not air 
But vision — yea, his very hand and foot — 



THE HOLY GRAIL. 157 

In moments when he feels he cannot die, 



And knows himself no vision to himself, 

Nor the high God a vision, nor that One 

Who rose again: ye have seen what ye have seen.' 

"So spake the King: I knew not all he meant." 



GUINEVERE IN THE ROMANCE. 

It is through the scandalous tale-bearing of Sir Modred 
that the love which Lancelot bears the queen is finally 
brought to King Arthur's notice. Reluctantly he allows a 
trap to be set for the lovers by Modred ; but when with 
eleven knights Modred comes to summon Lancelot to come 
before King Arthur to answer for his treachery, he takes 
vengeance upon them, and Modred is the only one left to 
run away to the king with the tale. 

Now, in truth, the rage of the king at this confirmation 
of his suspicions is uncontrollable. His queen, he insists, 
shall be burned to death ; but Lancelot with many noble 
knights comes to rescue her, and carries her ofT to his cas- 
tle of Joyous Card. War ensues, and the king lays siege 
to the castle. In vain Lancelot humbles himself, sends 
Guinevere back to England, and oiTers what reparation 
he can to the outraged king. News from England of the 
treachery of Modred, whom he had left in charge of the 
kingdom, finally compels Arthur to raise the siege and re- 
turn to England. Modred had not only usurped Arthur's 
throne, but had even insolently proposed marriage to Guine- 
vere and attempted to carry her away by force. But the 
Tower of London, where she had fled for safety, proves too 
strong for him, and he is compelled to leave her there while 
he goes to meet Arthur in that ** last sad battle of the west," 
in which both meet their fate. The queen takes refuge in 
Almesbury Convent. 

It is to be noticed that in the romance Guinevere does 
not enter the convent until after Arthur's death, hence Ar- 
thur is not represented as seeing his queen after her con- 

158 



GUINEVERE IN THE ROMANCE. 1 59 

vent life begins. This episode, which forms the chief feature 
in the Idyll, was added by Tennyson. 

As soon as Lancelot hears of Arthur's great peril, he 
hurries to England to assist his lord. But it is too late. 
The ruin he himself had begun is completed, and Arthur 
is dead. Leaving his followers, he attempts to seek out the 
queen. But Guinevere's heart is now broken and penitent. 
Arthur's death had touched her as his noble life never 
could. In the presence of her nuns she bids Lancelot fare- 
well, and begs him to pray for her. And so they part. 

Lancelot now retires to a monastery, and for six years 
remains there. One night there comes a vision to him, in 
which he is bidden to haste to Almesbury to Guinevere. He 
starts at once, but before he can reach her, Guinevere is 
dead. So her constant prayer that she might never again 
see Sir Lancelot with her mortal eyes is fulfilled. Lancelot 
leads her funeral to Glastonbury, where she is buried be- 
side King Arthur. For six weeks Lancelot prays con- 
tinually at their tomb. But release comes at last to the 
penitent soul. He is found one morning lying dead in his 
cell. The romance ends with the words — " And hee lay as 
hee had smiled." 



GUINEVERE. 



Queen Guinevere had fled the court, and sat 
There in the holy house at Almesbury 
Weeping, none with her save a Httle maid, 
A novice: one low light betwixt them burn'd 
Blurr'd by the creeping mist, for all abroad. 
Beneath a moon unseen albeit at full, 
The white mist, like a face-cloth to the face. 
Clung to the dead earth, and the land was still. 

For hither had she fled, her cause of flight 
Sir Modred; he that like a subtle beast 10 

Lay couchant with his eyes upon the throne, 
Ready to spring, waiting a chance : for this 
He chill'd the popular praises of the King 
With silent smiles of slow disparagement; 
And tampered with the Lords of the White Horse, 
Heathen, the brood by Hengist left: and sought 
To make disruption in the Table Round 
Of Arthur, and to splinter it into feuds 
Serving his traitorous end ; and all his aims 
Were sharpen'd by strong hate for Lancelot. 20 

For thus it chanced one morn when all the court. 
Green-suited, but with plumes that mock'd the may, 
Had been, their wont, a-Maying and return'd, 
That Modred still in green, all ear and eye, 
Climb'd to the high top of the garden-wall \ 

160 



GUINEVERE. l6l 

To spy some secret scandal if he might, 

And saw the Queen who sat betwixt her best 

Enid, and Hssome Vivien, of her court 

The wiHest and the worst; and more than this 

He saw not, for Sir Lancelot passing by 30 

Spied where he couch'd, and as the gardener's hand 

Picks from the colewort a green caterpillar. 

So from the high wall and the flowering grove 

Of grasses Lancelot pluck'd him by the heel. 

And cast him as a worm upon the way ; 

But when he knew the Prince tho' marr'd with dust, 

He, reverencing king's blood in a bad man, 

Made such excuses as he might, and these 

Full knightly without scorn ; for in those days 

No knight of Arthur's noblest dealt in scorn; 40 

But, if a man were halt or hunch 'd, in him 

By those whom God had made full-limb'd and tall, 

Scorn was allow'd as part of his defect, 

And he was answer'd softly by the King 

And all his Table. So Sir Lancelot holp 

To raise the Prince, who rising twice or thrice 

Full sharply smote his knees, and smiled, and went: 

But, ever after, the small violence done 

Rankled in him and ruffled all his heart, 

As the sharp wind that ruffles all day long 50 

A little bitter pool about a stone 

On the bare coast. 

But when Sir Lancelot told 
This matter to the Queen, at first she laugh'd 
Lightly, to think of Modred's dusty fall. 
Then shudder'd, as the village wife who cries 
*' I shudder, some one steps across my grave ; " 
Then laugh'd again, but faintlier, for indeed 
She half-foresaw that he, the subtle beast. 



1 62 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Would track her guilt until he found, and hers 

Would be for evermore a name of scorn. 6o 

Henceforward rarely could she front in hall, 

Or elsewhere, Modred's narrow foxy face, 

Heart-hiding smile, and gray persistent eye: 

•Henceforward too, the Powers that tend the soul, 

To help it from the death it cannot die, 

And save it even in extremes, began 

To vex and plague her. Many a time for hours, 

Beside the placid breathings of the King, 

In the dead night, grim faces came and went 

Before her, or a vague spiritual fear — 70 

Like to some doubtful noise of creaking doors. 

Heard by the watcher in a haunted house, 

That keeps the rust of murder on the walls — 

Held her awake: or if she slept, she dream'd 

An awful dream ; for then she seem'd to stand 

On some vast plain before a setting sun, 

And from the sun there swiftly made at her 

A ghastly something, and its shadow flew 

Before it, till it touch'd her, and she turn'd — 

When lo! her own, that broadening from her feet, 80 

And blackening, swallow'd all the land, and in it 

Far cities burnt, and with a cry she woke. 

And all this trouble did not pass but grew ; 

Till ev'n the clear face of the guileless King, 

And trustful courtesies of household life, 

Became her bane ; and at the last she said, 

*' O Lancelot, get thee hence to thine own land, 

For if thou tarry we shall meet again. 

And if we meet again, some evil chance 

Will make the smouldering scandal break and blaze 90 

Before the people, and our lord the King." 

And Lancelot ever promised, but remain'd, 

And still thev met and met. Again she said, 



GUINEVERE, 1 63 

" O Lancelot, if thou love me get thee hence." 

And then they were agreed upon a night 

(When the good King should not be there) to meet 

And part forever. Passion-pale they met 

And greeted: hands in hands, and eye to eye. 

Low on the border of her couch they sat 

Stammering and staring: it was their last hour, lOO 

A madness of farewells. And Modred brought 

His creatures to the basement of the tower 

For testimony; and crying with full voice 

*' Traitor, come out, ye are trapt at last," aroused 

Lancelot, who rushing outward lionlike 

Leapt on him, and hurl'd him headlong, and he fell 

Stunn'd, apd his creatures took and bare him ofif, 

And all was still : then she, '' The end is come. 

And I am shamed forever ; " and he said : 

" Mine be the shame; mine was the sin: but rise, lio 

And fly to my strong castle overseas: 

There will I hide thee till my life shall end. 

There hold thee with my life against the world." 

She answer'd : " Lancelot, wilt thou hold me so? 

Nay, friend, for we have taken our farewells. 

Would God that thou couldst hide me from myself! 

Mine is the shame, for I was wife, and thou 

Unwedded : yet rise now, and let us fly. 

For I will draw me into sanctuary. 

And bide my doom." So Lancelot got her horse, 120 

Set her thereon, and mounted on his own. 

And then they rode to the divided way. 

There kiss'd, and parted weeping: for he past, 

Love-loyal to the least wish of the Queen, 

Back to his land; but she to Almesbury 

Fled all night long by glimmering waste and weald. 

And heard the spirits of the waste and weald 

Moan as she fled, or thought she heard them moan: 



1 64 IDYLLS OF TLLE KING. 

And in herself she moan'd " Too late, too late! " 

Till in the cold wind that foreruns the morn, 1 30 

A blot in heaven, the Raven, flying high, 

Croak'd, and she thought, " He spies a field of death ; 

For now the Heathen of the Northern Sea, 

Lured by the crimes and frailties of the court, 

Begin to slay the folk, and spoil the land." 

And when she came to Almesbury she spake 
There to the nuns, and said, " Mine enemies 
Pursue me, but, O peaceful Sisterhood, 
Receive, and yield me sanctuary, nor ask 
Her name to whom ye yield it, till her time 140 

To tell you : " and her beauty, grace and power, 
Wrought as a charm upon them, and they spared 
To ask it. 

So the stately Queen abode 
For many a week, unknown, among the nuns ; 
Nor with them mix'd, nor told her name, nor sought, 
Wrapt in her grief, for housel or for shrift, 
But communed only with the little maid, 
Who pleased her with a babbling heedlessness 
Which often lured her from herself ; but now. 
This night, a rumor wildly blown about 150 

Came, that Sir Modred had usurp'd the realm. 
And leagued him with the heathen, while the King 
Was waging war on Lancelot: then she thought, 
" With what a hate the people and the King 
Must hate me," and bow'd down upon her hands 
Silent, until the little maid, who brook'd 
No silence, brake it, uttering " Late ! so late ! 
What hour, I wonder, now ? " and when she drew 
No answer, by and by began to hum 
An air the nuns had taught her ; " Late, so late ! " 160 



GUINEVERE. 1 65 

Which when she heard, the Queen look'd up, and said, 

" O maiden, if indeed ye Hst to sing, 

Sing, and unbind my heart that I may weep." 

Whereat full willingly sang the little maid : , 

" Late, late, so late ! and dark the night and chill ! 
Late, late, so late ! but we can enter still. 
Too late, too late! ye cannot enter now. 

** No light had we : for that we do repent ; 
And learning this, the bridegroom will relent. 
Too late, too late ! ye cannot enter now. 170 

" No light : so late ! and dark and chill the night ! 
O let us in, that we may find the light ! 
Too late, too late: ye cannot enter now. 

" Have we not heard the bridegroom is so sweet ? 
O let us in, tho' late, to kiss his feet ! 
No, no, too late! ye cannot enter now." 

So sang the novice, while full passionately, 
Her head upon her hands, remembering 
Her thought when first she came, wept the sad Queen. 
Then said the little novice prattling to her: 180 

" O pray you, noble lady, weep no more ; 
But let my words, the words of one so small, 
Who knowing nothing knows but to obey, 
And if I do not there is penance given — 
Comfort your sorrows ; for they do not flow 
From evil done; right sure am I of that, 
Who see your tender grace and stateliness. 
But weigh your sorrows with our lord the King's, 
And weighing find them less ; for gone is he 



1 66 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

To wage grim war against Sir Lancelot there, 190 

Round that strong castle where he holds the Queen; 

And Modred whom he left in charge of all, 

The traitor — Ah sweet lady, the King's grief 

For his own self, and his own Queen, and realm, 

Must needs be thrice as great as any of ours. 

For me, I thank the saints, I am not great ; 

For if there ever come a grief to me 

I cry my cry in silence, and have done. 

None knows it, and my tears have brought me good: 

But even were the griefs of little ones 200 

As great as those of great ones, yet this grief 

Is added to the griefs the great must bear. 

That howsoever much they may desire 

Silence, they cannot weep behind a cloud: 

As even here they talk at Almesbury 

About the good King and his wicked Queen, 

And were I such a King with such a Queen, 

Well might I wish to veil her wickedness. 

But were I such a King, it could not be." 

Then to her own sad heart mutter'd the Queen, 210 

** Will the child kill me with her innocent talk ? " 
But openly 'she answer'd, ''Must not I, 
If this false traitor have displaced his lord, 
Grieve with the common grief of all the realm ? " 

" Yea," said the maid, " this is all woman's grief, 
That she is woman, whose disloyal life 
Hath wrought confusion in the Table Round 
Which good King Arthur founded, years ago, 
With signs and miracles and wonders, there 
At Camelot, ere the coming of the Queen." 220 

Then thought the Queen within herself again, 
" Will the child kill me with her foolish prate?" 



GUINEVERE, 167 

But Openly she spake and said to her, 

*' O Httle m^id, shut in by nunnery walls, 

What canst thou know of Kings and Tables Round, 

Or what of signs and wonders, but the signs 

And simple miracles of thy nunnery ? " 

To whom the little novice garrulously, 
" Yea, but I know : the land was full of signs 
And wonders ere the coming of the Queen. 230 

So said my father, and himself was knight 
Of the great Table — at the founding of it; 
And rode thereto from Lyonnesse, and he said 
That as he rode, an hour or maybe twain 
After the sunset, down the coast, he heard 
Strange music, and he paused, and turning — there, 
All down the lonely coast of Lyonnesse, 
Each with a beacon-star upon his head. 
And with a wild sea-light about his feet. 
He saw them — headland after headland flame 240 

Far on into the rich heart of the west : 
And in the light the white mermaiden swam. 
And strong man-breasted things stood from the sea, 
And sent a deep sea-voice thro' all the land, 
To which the little elves of chasm and cleft 
Made answer, sounding like a distant horn. 
So said my father — yea, and furthermore, 
Next morning, while he past the dim-lit woods.. 
Himself beheld three spirits mad with joy 
Come dashing down on a tall wayside flower, 250 

That shook beneath them, as the thistle shakes 
When three gray linnets wrangle for the seed: 
And still at evenings on before his horse 
The flickering fairy-circle wheel'd and broke 
Flying, and link'd again, and wheel'd and broke 
Flying, for all the land was full of life. 



1 68 IDYLLS OF 7 HE KING. 

And when at last he came to Camelot, 

A wreath of airy dancers hand-in-hand 

Swung round the Hghted lantern of the hall; 

And in the hall itself was such a feast 260 

As never man had dream'd ; for every knight 

Had whatsoever meat he long'd for served 

By hands unseen; and even as he said 

Down in the cellars merry bloated things 

Shoulder'd the spigot, straddling on the butts 

While the wine ran : so glad were spirits and men 

Before the coming of the sinful Queen." 

Then spake the Queen and somewhat bitterly, 
'* Were they so glad ? ill prophets were they all. 
Spirits and men : could none of them foresee, 270 

Not even thy wise father with his signs 
And wonders, what has fall'n upon the realm ? " 

To whom the novice garrulously again, 
" Yea, one, a bard ; of whom my father said, 
Full many a noble war-song had he sung, 
Ev'n in the presence of an enemy's fleet. 
Between the steep clifif and the coming wave; 
And many a mystic lay of life and death 
Had chanted on the smoky mountain-tops, 
W^hen round him bent the spirits of the hills 280 

With all their dewy hair blown back like flame : 
So said my father — and that night the bard 
Sang Arthur's glorious wars, and sang the King 
As well-nigh more than man, and rail'd at those 
Who call'd him the false son of Gorlois: 
For there was no man knew from whence he came ; 
But after tempest, when the long wave broke 
All down the thundering shores of Bude and Bos, 
There came a day as still as heaven, and then 



GUINEVERE, 1 69 

They found a naked child upon the sands 290 

Of dark Tintagil by the Cornish sea ; 

And that was Arthur ; and they fosterVl him 

Till he by miracle was approven King: 

And that his grave should be a mystery 

From all men, like his birth ; and could he find 

A woman in her womanhood as great 

As he was in his manhood, then, he sang, 

The twain together well might change the world. 

But even in the middle of his song 

He falter'd, and his hand fell from the harp, 300 

And pale he turn'd, and reel'd, and would have fall'n, 

But that they stay'd him up ; nor would he tell 

His vision; but what doubt that he foresaw 

This evil work of Lancelot and the Queen ? " 

Then thought the Queen, " Lo ! they have set her on, 
Our simple-seeming Abbess and her nuns, 
To play upon me," and bow'd her head nor spake. 
Whereat the novice crying, with clasp'd hands. 
Shame on her own garrulity garrulously, 
Said the good nuns would check her gadding tongue 310 
Full often, " and, sweet lady, if I seem 
To vex an ear too sad to listen to me, 
Unmannerly, with prattling and the tales 
Which my good father told me, check me too, 
Nor let me shame my father's memory, one 
Of noblest manners, tho' himself would say 
Sir Lancelot had the noblest; and he died, 
Kill'd in a tilt, come next, five summers back, 
And left me ; but of others who remain, 
And of the two first-famed for courtesy — 320 

And pray you check me if I ask amiss — 
But pray you, which had noblest, while you moved 
Among them, Lancelot, or our lord the King?" 



lyo IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Then the pale Queen look'd up and answer'd her, 
" Sir Lancelot, as became a noble knight. 
Was gracious to all ladies, and the same 
In open battle or the tilting-field 
Forbore his own advantage, and the King 
In open battle or the tilting-field 

Forbore his own advantage, and these two 330 

Were the most nobly-manner'd men of all; 
For manners are not idle, but the fruit 
Of loyal nature, and of noble mind." 

"Yea," said the maid, "be manners such fair fruit? 
Then Lancelot's needs must be a thousand-fold 
Less noble, being, as all rumor runs. 
The most disloyal friend in all the world." 

To which a mournful answer made the Queen: 
" O closed about by narrowing nunnery-walls. 
What knowest thou of the world, and all its lights 340 
And shadows, all the wealth and all the woe? 
If ever Lancelot, that most noble knight. 
Were for one hour less noble than himself, 
Pray for him that he scape the doom of fire, 
And weep for her who drew him to his doom." 

" Yea," said the little novice, " I pray for both ; 
But I should all as soon believe that his, 
Sir Lancelot's, were as noble as the King's, 
As I could think, sweet lady, yours would be 
Such as they are, were you the sinful Queen." 350 

So she, like many another babbler, hurt 
Whom she would soothe, and harm'd where she would heal ; 
For here a sudden flush of wrathful heat 
Fired all the pale face of the Queen, who cried, 
" Such as thou art be never maiden more 



GUINEVERE. I71 

Forever! thou their tool, set on to plague 

And play upon, and harry me, petty spy 

And traitress." When that storm of anger brake 

From Guinevere, aghast the maiden rose. 

White as her veil, and stood before the Queen 360 

As tremulously as foam upon the beach 

Stands in a wind, ready to break and fly. 

And when the Queen had added, " Get thee hence," 

Fled frighted. Then that other left alone 

Sigh'd, and began to gather heart again. 

Saying in herself, " The simple, fearful child 

Meant nothing, but my own too-fearful guilt, 

Simpler than any child, betrays itself. 

But help me, heaven, for surely I repent. 

For what is true repentance but in thought — 370 

Not ev'n in inmost thought to think again 

The sins that made the past so pleasant to us: 

And I have sworn never to see him more, 

To see him more." 

And ev'n in saying this, 
Her memory from old habit of the mind 
Went slipping back upon the golden days 
In which she saw him first, when Lancelot came, 
Reputed the best knight and goodliest man, 
Ambassador, to lead her to his lord 

Arthur, and led her forth, and far ahead 380 

Of his and her retinue moving, they. 
Rapt in sweet talk or lively, all on love 
And sport and tilts and pleasure (for the time 
Was Maytime, and as yet no sin was dream'd), 
Rode under groves that look'd a paradise 
Of blossom, over sheets of hyacinth 
That seem'd the heavens upbreaking thro' the earth, 
And on from hill to hill, and every day 



172 IDYLLS OF THE KING, 

Beheld at noon in some delicious dale 

The silk pavilions of King Arthur raised 390 

For brief repast or afternoon repose 

By couriers gone before ; and on again, 

Till yet once more ere set of sun they saw 

The Dragon of the great Pendragonship, 

That crown'd the state pavilion of the King, 

Blaze by the rushing brook or silent well. 

But when the Queen immersed in such a trance, 
x\nd moving thro' the past unconsciously, 
Came to that point where first she saw the King 
Ride toward her from the city, sigh'd to find 400 

Her journey done, glanced at him, thought him cold, 
High, self-contain'd, and passionless, not like him, 
'' Not like my Lancelot " — while she brooded thus 
And grew half-guilty in her thoughts again. 
There rode an armed warrior to the doors. 
A murmuring whisper thro' the nunnery ran, 
Then on a sudden a cry, " The King ! " She sat 
Stiff-stricken, listening; but when armed feet ' 
Thro' the long gallery from the outer doors 
Rang coming, prone from off her seat she fell, 410 

And grovell'd with her face against the floor: 
There with her milk-white arms and shadowy hair 
She made her face a darkness from the King : 
And in the darkness heard his armed feet 
Pause by her; then came silence, then a voice, 
Monotonous and hollow like a Ghost's 
Denouncing judgment, but, tho' changed, the King's: 

" Liest thou here so low, the child of one 
I honor'd, happy, dead before thy shame? 
Well is it that no child is born of thee. 420 

The children born of thee are sword and fire, 



GUINEVERE. 1 73 

Red ruin, and the breaking up of laws, 

The craft of kindred and the Godless hosts 

Of heathen swarming o'er the Northern Sea; 

Whom I, while yet Sir Lancelot, my right arm, 

The mightiest of my knights, abode with me, 

Have everywhere about this land of Christ 

In twelve great battles ruining overthrown. 

And knowest thou now from whence I come — from him, 

From waging bitter war with him : and he, 430 

That did not shun to smite me in worse way, 

Had yet that grace of courtesy in him left. 

He spared to lift his hand against the King 

Who made him knight: but many a knight was slain; 

And many more, and all his kith and kin 

Clave to him, and abode' in his own land. 

And many more when Modred raised revolt, 

Forgetful of their troth and fealty, clave 

To Modred, and a remnant stays with me. 

And of this remnant will I leave a part, 440 

True men who love me still, for whom I live, 

To guard thee in the wild hour coming on, . 

Lest but a hair of this low head be harm'd. 

Fear not: thou shalt be guarded till my death. 

Howbeit I know, if ancient prophecies 

Have err'd not, that I march to meet my doom 

Thou hast not made my life so sweet to me, 

That I the King should greatly care to live ; 

For thou hast spoilt the purpose of my life. 

Bear with me for the last time while I show, 450 

Ev'n for thy sake, the sin which thou hast sinn'd. 

For when the Roman left us, and their law 

Relax'd its hold upon us, and the ways 

Were fill'd with rapine, here and there a deed 

Of prowess done redress'd a random wrong. 

But I was first of all the kings who drew 



174 IDYLLS OF TILE KING. 

The knighthood-errant of this realm and all 

The realms together under me, their Head, 

In that fair Order of my Tahle Round, 

A glorious company, the flower of men, 460 

To serve as model for the mighty world, 

And be the fair beginning of a time. 

I made them lay their hands in mine and swear 

To reverence the King, as if he were 

Their conscience, and their conscience as their King, 

To break the heathen and uphold the Christ, 

To ride abroad redressing human wrongs, 

To speak no slander, no, nor listen to it, 

To honor his own word as if his God's, 

To lead sweet lives in purest chastity, 470 

To love one maiden only, cleave to her. 

And worship her by years of noble deeds, 

Until they won her; for indeed I knew 

Of no more subtle master under heaven 

Than is the maiden passion for a maid, 

Not only to keep down the base in man, 

But teach high thought, and amiable words 

And courtliness, and the desire of fame, 

And love of truth, and all that makes a man. 

And all this throve before I wedded thee, 480 

Believing, ' Lo mine helpmate, one to feel 

My purpose and rejoicing in my joy.' 

Then came thy shameful sin with Lancelot; 

Then came the sin of Tristram and Isolt ; 

Then others, following these my mightiest knights, 

And drawing foul ensample from fair names, 

Sinn'd also, till the loathsome opposite 

Of all my heart had destined did obtain, 

And all thro' thee ! so that this life of mine 

I guard as God's high gift from scathe .and wrong, 490 

Not greatly care to lose; but rather think 



GUINEVERE. 1 75 

How sad it were for Arthur, should he live, 

To sit once more within his lonely hall, 

And miss the wonted number of my knights, - 

And miss to hear high talk of noble deeds 

As in the golden days before thy sin. 

For which of us, who might be left, could speak 

Of the pure heart, nor seem to glance at thee? 

And in thy bowers of Camelot or of Usk 

Thy shadow still would glide from room to room, 500 

And I should evermore be vext with thee 

In hanging robe or vacant ornament. 

Or ghostly footfall echoing on the stair. 

For think not, tho' thou wouldst not love thy lord, 

Thy lord has wholly lost his love for thee. 

I am not made of so slight elements. 

Yet must I leave thee, woman, to thy shame. 

I hold that man the worst of public foes 

Who either for his own or children's sake. 

To save his blood from scandal, lets the wife 510 

Whom he knows false, abide and rule the house: 

For being thro' his cowardice allow'd 

Her station, taken everywhere for pure. 

She like a new disease, unknown to men. 

Creeps, no precaution used, among the crowd. 

Makes wicked lightnings of her eyes, and saps 

The fealty of our friends, and stirs the pulse 

With devil's leaps, and poisons half the young. 

Worst of the worst were that man he that reigns ! 

Better the King's waste hearth and aching heart 520 

Than thou reseated in thy place of light. 

The mockery of my people, and their bane." 

He paused, and in the pause she crept an inch 
Nearer, and laid her hands about his feet. 
Far ofiF a solitary trumpet blew. 



lyo IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Then waiting by the doors the warhorse neigh'd 
As at a friend's voice, and he spake again : 

" Yet think not that I come to urge thy crimes ; 
I did not come to curse thee, Guinevere, 
I, whose vast pity almost makes me die 530 

To see thee, laying there thy golden head. 
My pride in happier summers, at my feet. 
The wrath which forced my thoughts on that fierce law, 
The doom of treason and the flaming death, 
(When first I learnt thee hidden here) is past. 
The pang — which while I weigh'd thy heart with one 
Too wholly true to dream untruth in thee. 
Made my tears burn — is also past, in part. 
And all is past, the sin is sinn'd, and I, 
Lo ! I forgive thee, as Eternal God 54^ 

Forgives: do thou for thine own soul the rest. 
But how to take last leave of all I loved? 

golden hair, with which I used to play 
Not knowing. O imperial-moulded form, 
And beauty such as never woman wore, 
Until it came a kingdom's curse with thee — 

1 cannot touch thy lips, they are not mine, 

But Lancelot's: nay, they never were the King's. 

I cannot take thy hand; that too is flesh. 

And in the flesh thou hast sinn'd ; and mine own flesh, 550 

Here looking down on thine polluted, cries 

' I loathe thee : ' yet not less, O Guinevere, 

For I was ever virgin save for thee, 

My love thro' flesh hath wrought into my life 

So far, that my doom is, I love thee still. 

Let no man dream but that I love thee still. 

Perchance, and so thou purify thy soul, 

And so thou lean on our fair father Christ, 

Hereafter in that world where all are pure 



GUINEVERE. 1 77 

We two may meet before high God, and thou 560 

Wilt spring to me, and claim me thine, and know 

I am thine husband — not a smaller soul. 

Nor Lancelot, nor another. Leave me that, 

I charge thee, my last hope. Now must I hence. 

Thro' the thick night I hear the trumpet blow: 

They summon me their King to lead mine hosts 

Far down to that great battle in the west, 

Where I must strike against the man they call 

My sister's son — no kin of mine, who leagues 

With Lords of the White Horse, heathen, and knights, 570 

Traitors — and strike him dead, and meet myself 

Death, or I know not what mysterious doom. 

And thou remaining here wilt learn the event; 

But hither shall I never come again. 

Never lie by thy side; see thee no more — 

Farewell ! " 

And while she grovell'd at his feet, 
She felt the King's breath wander o'er her neck. 
And in the darkness o'er her fallen head, 
Perceived the waving of his hands that blest. 

Then, listening till those armed steps were gone, 580 
Rose the pale Queen, and in her anguish found 
The casement : " peradventure," so she thought, 
'' If I might see his face, and not be seen." 
And lo, he sat on horseback at the door ! 
And near him the sad nuns with each a light 
Stood, and he gave them charge about the Queen, 
To guard and foster her for evermore. 
And while he spake to these his helm was lower'd. 
To which for crest the golden dragon clung 
Of Britain ; so she did not see the face, 590 

Which then was an angel's, but she saw, 
Wet with the mists and smitten by the lights, 



lyS IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

The Dragon of the great Pendragonship 

Blaze, making all the night a steam of fire. 

And even then he turn'd; and more and more 

The moony vapor rolling round the King, 

Who seem'd the phantom of a Giant in it, 

Enwound him fold by fold, and made him gray 

And grayer, till himself became as mist 

Before her, moving ghostlike to his doom. 600 

Then she stretch'd out her arms and cried aloud 
** O Arthur ! " there her voice brake suddenly, 
Then — as a stream that spouting from a cliff 
Fails in mid-air, but gathering at the base 
Re-makes itself, and flashes down the vale — 
Went on in passionate utterance: 

" Gone — my lord ! 
Gone thro' my sin to slay and to be slain ! 
And he forgave me, and I could not speak. 
Farew^ell? I should have answer'd his farewell. 
His mercy choked me. Gone, my lord the King, 610 

My own true lord ! how dare I call him mine ? 
The shadow of another cleaves to me, 
And makes me one pollution: he, the King, 
Call'd me polluted: shall I kill myself? 
What help in that? I cannot kill my sin, 
If soul be soul; nor can I kill my shame; 
No, nor by living can I live it down. 
The days will grow to weeks, the weeks to months, 
The months will add themselves and make the years. 
The years will roll into the centuries, 620 

And mine will ever be a name of scorn. 
I must not dwell on that defeat of fame. 
Let the world be ; that is but of the world— 
What else? what hope? I think there was a hope, 
Except he mock'd me when he spake of hope ; 



GUINEVERE. 

His hope he call'd it ; but he never mocks, 
For mockery is the fume of httle hearts. 
And blessed be the King, who hath forgiven 
My wickedness to him, and let me hope 
That in mine own heart I can live down sin 
And be his mate hereafter in the heavens 
Before high God. Ah great and gentle lord, 
Who wast, as is the conscience of a saint 
Among his warring senses, to thy knights — 
To whom my false voluptuous pride, that took 
Full easily all impressions from below. 
Would not look up, or half-despised the height 
To which I would not or I could not climb — 
I thought I could not breathe in that fine air, 
That pure severity of perfect light — 
I yearned for warmth and color which I found 
In Lancelot — now I see thee what thou art, 
Thou art the highest and most human too, 
Not Lancelot, nor another. Is there none 
Will tell the King I love him tho' so late? 
Now — ere he goes to the great Battle? none: 
Myself must tell him in that purer life, 
But now it were too daring. Ah tny God, 
What might I not have made of thy fair world. 
Had I but loved thy highest creature here? 
It was my duty to have loved the highest : 
It surely was my profit had I known: 
It would have been my pleasure had I seen. 
We needs must love the highest when we see it. 
Not Lancelot, nor another." 

Here her hand 
Grasp'd, made her vail her eyes : she look'd and saw 
The novice, weeping, suppliant, and said to her, 
** Yea, little maid, for am / not forgiven ? " 



l8o IDYLLS OF THE KING, 

Then glancing up beheld the holy nuns 

All round her, weeping; and her heart was loosed 660 

Within her, and she wept with these and said, 

" Ye know me then, that wicked one who broke 
The vast design and purpose of the King. 

shut me round with narrowing nunnery-walls, 
Meek maidens, from the voices crying ' shame.' 

1 must not scorn myself: he loves me still. 
Let no one dream but that he loves me still. 
So let me, if you do not shudder at me, 
Nor shun to call me sister, dwell with you ; 

Wear black and white, and be a nun like you, 670 

Fast with your fasts, not feasting with your feasts; 

Grieve with your griefs, not grieving at your joys. 

But not rejoicing ; mingle with your rites ; 

Pray and be pray'd for; lie before your shrines; 

Do each low office of your holy house ; 

Walk your dim cloister, and distribute dole 

To poor sick people, richer in His eyes 

Who ransom'd us, and haler too than I ; 

And treat their loathsome hurts and heal mine own; 

And so wear out in almsdeed and in prayer 680 

The sombre close of that voluptuous day. 

Which wrought the ruin of my lord the King." 

She said: they took her to themselves: and she. 
Still hoping, fearing, " is it yet too late ? " 
Dwelt with them, till in time their Abbess died. 
Then she, for her good deeds and her pure life, 
And for the power of ministration in her. 
And likewise for the high rank she had borne, 
Was chosen Abbess, there, an Abbess, lived 
For three brief years, and there, an Abbess, past 690 

To where beyond these voices there is peace. 



THE PASSING OF ARTHUR IN THE ROMANCE. 

When Arthur goes to besiege Lancelot in his castle of 
Joyous Gard, he leaves his nephew Modred in charge of the 
kingdom in his absence. Modred forges letters telling of 
the death of Arthur in battle, and has himself crowned 
king in his place. His attempt to force Guinevere to marry 
him is frustrated by her flight to the Tower of London, 
which she fortifies against him. Upon news of this, Ar- 
thur returns to England and is met at Dover by Modred 
with a large army of Arthur's knights and barons, whom 
he has attached to himself by lavish promises. A battle is 
fought in which the rebels are driven back. Arthur drives 
Modred from city to city, until he finally forces him to meet 
him in open battle at Camlan in Lyonnesse. From this 
point the incidents of the poem are almost identical with 
those of the romance, Tennyson having adopted Malory's 
very words at times. 

It is interesting to compare the character of the Arthur 
of the romance with that of the Arthur of the " Idylls." 
The romance makes him principally the king and warrior. 
It is the royal and warlike traits which are especially em- 
phasized. He is haughty, imperious, kingly in every word 
and deed. His life as king begins with a proud defiance to 
Rome, and his last words are an imperious command to Sir 
Bedivere. But on the other hand, he is the ideal knight of 
that chivalrous age, so that his kingliness never verges into 
tyranny. He is a chivalrous king, stanch in his fidelity to 
lady and friend, generous to friend and foe, unyielding in 
his hatred of sin and wrong. Yet he has the faults of the 
age of chivalry as well as its virtues. He is, in short, the 
true representative of his time, a human being with the 
honest failings and noble aspirations of other sinning 
mortals. 

i8i 



THE PASSING OF ARTHUR. 



That story which the bold Sir Bedivere, 
First made and latest left of all the knights, 
Told, when the man was no more than a voice 
In the white winter of his age, to those 
With whom he dwelt, new faces, other minds. 

For on their march to westward, Bedivere, 
Who slowly paced among the slumbering host, 
Heard in his tent the moanings of the King: 

** I found Him in the shining of the stars, 
I mark'd Him in the flowering of His fields, lO 

But in His ways with men I find Him not. 
I waged His wars, and now I pass and die. 
O me ! for why is all around us here 
As if some lesser god had made the world, 
But had not force to shape it as he would. 
Till the High God behold it from beyond, 
And enter it, and make it beautiful? 
Or else as if the world were wholly fair, 
But that these eyes of men are dense and dim, 
And have not power to see it as it is : 20 

Perchance, because we see not to the close ; — 
For I, being simple, thought to work His will. 
And have but stricken with the sword in vain; 
And all whereon I leanM in wife and friend 
Is traitor to my peace, and all my realm 

182 



THE PASSING OF ARTHUR. 1 83 

Reels back into the beast, and is no more. 
My God, thou hast forgotten me in my death: 
Nay — God my Christ — I pass but shall not die." 

Then, ere that last weird battle in the west, 
There came on Arthur sleeping, Gawain kill'd 30 

In Lancelot's war, the ghost of Gawain blown 
Along a wandering wind, and past his ear 
Went shrilling, " Hollow, hollow all delight! 
Hail, King! to-morrow thou shalt pass away. 
Farewell ! there is an isle of rest for thee. 
And I am blown along a wandering wind, 
And hollow, hollow, hollow all delight." 
And fainter onward, like wild birds that change 
Their season in the night and wail their way 
From cloud to cloud, down the long wind the dream 40 
Shrill'd; but in going mingled with dim cries 
Far in the moonlit haze among the hills. 
As of some lonely city sack'd by night, 
When all is lost, and wife and child with wail 
Pass to new lords ; and Arthur woke and call'd, 
" Who spake? A dream. O light upon the wind, 
Thine, Gawain, was the voice — are these dim cries 
Thine? or doth all that haunts the waste and wild 
Mourn, knowing it will go along with me?" 

This heard the bold Sir Bedivere and spake: 50 

" O me, my King, let pass whatever will. 
Elves, and the harmless glamour of the field ; 
But in their stead thy name and glory cling 
To all high places like a golden cloud 
Forever: but as yet thou shalt not pass. 
Light was Gawain in life, and light in death 
Is Gawain, for the ghost is as the man ; 
And care not thou for dreams from him, but rise— 



184 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

I hear the steps of Modred in the west, 

And with him many of thy people, and knights 60 

Once thine, whom thou hast loved, but grosser grown 

Than heathen, spitting at their vows and thee. 

Right well in heart they know thee for the King. 

Arise, go forth and conquer as of old." 

Then spake King Arthur to Sir Bedivere: 
" Far other is this battle in the west 
Whereto we move, than where we strove in youth. 
And brake the petty kings, and fought with Rome, 
Or thrust the heathen from the Roman wall, 
And shook him thro' the north. Ill doom is mine 70 

To war against my people and my knights. 
The king who fights his people fights himself. 
And they my knights, who loved me once, the stroke 
That strikes them dead is as my death to me. 
Yet let us hence, and find or feel a way 
Thro' this blind haze, which ever since I saw 
One lying in the dust at Almesbury, 
Hath folded in the passes of the world." 

Then rose the King and moved his host by night, 
And ever push'd Sir Modred, league by league, 80 

Back to the sunset bound of Lyonnesse — 
A land of old upheaven from the abyss 
By fire, to sink into the abyss again ; 
Where fragments of forgotten peoples dwelt. 
And the long mountains ended in a coast 
Of ever-shifting sand, and far away 
The phantom circle of a moaning sea. 
There the pursuer could pursue no more, 
And he that fled no further fly the King; 
And there, that day when the great light of heaven 90 

Burn'd at his lowest in the rolling year. 



THE PASSING OF ARTHUR. 185 

On the waste sand by the waste sea they closed. 

Nor ever yet had Arthur fought a fight 

Like this last, dim, weird battle of the west. 

A death-white mist slept over sand and sea: 

Whereof the chill, to him who breathed it, drew 

Down with his blood, till all his heart was cold 

With formless fear ; and ev'n on Arthur fell 

Confusion, since he saw not whom he fought, 

For friend and foe were shadows in the mist, 100 

And friend slew friend not knowing whom he slew ; 

And some had visions out of golden youth, 

And some beheld the faces of old ghosts 

Look in upon the battle ; and in the mist 

Was many a noble deed, many a base, 

And chance and craft and strength in single fights. 

And ever and anon with host to host 

Shocks, and the splintering spear, the hard mail hewn. 

Shield-breakings, and the clash of brands, the crash 

Of battle-axes on shatter'd helms, and shrieks 1 10 

After the Christ, of those who falling down 

Look'd up for heaven, and only saw the mist; 

And shouts of heathen and the traitor knights, 

Oaths, insult, filth, and monstrous blasphemies, 

Sweat, writhings, anguish, laboring of the lungs 

In that close mist, and cryings for the light, 

Moans of the dying, and voices of the dead. 

Last, as by some one deathbed after wail 
Of suffering, silence follows, or thro' death 
Or deathlike swoon, thus over all that shore, 120 

Save for some whisper of the seething seas, 
A dead hush fell ; but when the dolorous day 
Grew drearier toward twilight falling, came 
A bitter wind, clear from the North, and blew 
The mist aside, and with that wind the tide 



1 86 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

Rose, and the pale King glanced across the field 

Of battle: but no man was moving there; 

Nor any cry of Christian heard thereon, 

Nor yet of heathen ; only the wan wave 

Brake in among dead faces, to and fro 130 

Swaying the helpless hands, and up and down 

Tumbling the hollow helmets of the fallen. 

And shiver'd brands that once had fought with Rome, 

And rolling far along the gloomy shores 

The voice of days of old and days to be. 

Then spake King Arthur to Sir Bedivere, 
And whiter than the mist that all day long 
Had held the field of battle was the King: 

" Hearest thou this voice that shakes the world 
And wastes the narrow realm whereon we move, 140 

And beats upon the faces of the dead, 
My dead, as tho' they had not died for me? — 
O Bedivere, for on my heart hath fall'n 
Confusion, till I know not what I am. 
Nor whence I am, nor whether I be King. 
Behold, I seem but King among the dead." 

Then spake the bold Sir Bedivere : " My King, 
King everywhere! and so the dead have kings, 
There also will I worship thee as King. 
Yet still thy life is whole, and still I live 150 

Who love thee ; but who hates thee, he that brought 
The heathen back among us, yonder stands, 
Modred, unharm'd, the traitor of thine house." 

Then spake the King: " My house hath been my doom, 
But call not thou this traitor of my house 
Who hath but dwelt beneath one roof with me. 



THE PASSING OF ARTHUR. 1 87 

My house are rather those who sware my vows, 

Yea, even while they brake them, own'd me King. 

And well for thee, saying in my dark hour, 

When all the purport of my throne hath fail'd, 160 

That quick or dead thou holdest me for King. 

King am I, whatsoever be their cry ; 

And one last act of kinghood shalt thou see 

Yet, ere I pass." And uttering this the King 

Made at the man: then Modred smote his liege 

Hard on that helm which many a heathen sword 

Had beaten thin ; while Arthur at one blow. 

Striking the last stroke with Excalibur, 

Slew him, and all but slain himself, he fell. 

So all day long the noise of battle roU'd 170 

Among the mountains by the winter sea; 
Until King Arthur's Table, man by man. 
Had fall'n in Lyonnesse about their lord. 
King Arthur. Then, because his wound was deep, 
The bold Sir Bedivere uplifted him. 
And bore him to a chapel nigh the field, 
A broken chancel with a broken cross, 
That stood on a dark strait of barren land: 
On one side lay the Ocean, and on one 
Lay a great water, and the moon was full. 180 

Then spake King Arthur to Sir Bedivere: 
" The sequel of to-day unsolders all 
The goodliest fellowship of famous knights 
Whereof this world holds record. Such a sleep 
They sleep — the men I loved. 1 think that we 
Shall never more, at any future time, 
Delight our souls with talk of knightly deeds, 
Walking about the gardens and the halls 
Of Camelot, as in the days that were. 



1 88 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

I perish by this people which I made, — 190 

Tho' MerHn sware that I should come again 

To rule once more; but, let what will be, be, 

I am so deeply smitten thro' the helm 

That without help I cannot last till morn. 

Thou therefore take my brand Excalibur, 

Which was my pride: for thou rememberest how 

In those old days, one summer noon, an arm 

Rose up from out the bosom of the lake, 

Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful, 

Holding the sword — and how I row'd across 200 

And took it, and have worn it, like a king; 

And, wheresoever I am sung or told 

In aftertime, this also shall be known: 

But now delay not, take Excalibur, 

And fling him far into the middle mere : 

Watch what thou seest, and lightly bring me word." 

To him replied the bold Sir Bedivere: 
" It is not meet. Sir King, to leave thee thus. 
Aidless, alone, and smitten thro' the helm — 
A little thing may harm a wounded man: 2IO 

Yet I thy best will all perform at full, 
Watch what I see, and lightly bring thee word." 

So saying, from the ruin'd shrine he stept, 
And in the moon athwart the place of tombs. 
Where lay the mighty bones of ancient men, 
Old knights, and over them the sea-wind sang 
Shrill, chill, with flakes of foam. He, stepping down 
By zigzag paths, and juts of pointed rock. 
Came on the shining levels of the lake. 

There drew he forth the brand Excalibur, 220 

And o'er him, drawing it, the winter moon. 



THE PASSING OF ARTHUR. 1 89 

Brightening the skirts of a long cloud, ran forth 

And sparkled keen with frost against the hilt : 

For all the haft twinkled with diamond sparks. 

Myriads of topaz-lights, and jacinth-work 

Of subtlest jewellery. He gazed so long 

That both his eyes were dazzled as he stood, 

This way and that dividing the swift mind, 

In act to throw: but at the last it seem'd 

Better to leave Excalibur conceal'd 230 

There in the many-knotted waterflags. 

That whistled stiff and dry about the marge. 

So strode he back slow to the wounded King. 

Then spake King Arthur to Sir Bedivere: 
" Hast thou perform'd my mission which I gave ? 
What is it thou hast seen ? or what hast heard ? " 

And answer made the bold Sir Bedivere: 
" I heard the ripple washing in the reeds. 
And the wild water lapping on the crag." 

To whom replied King Arthur, faint and pale: 240 

** Thou hast betray'd thy nature and thy name, 
Not rendering true answer, as beseem'd 
Thy fealty, nor like a noble knight: 
For surer sign had follow'd, either hand, 
Or voice, or else a motion of the mere. 
This is a shameful thing for men to lie. 
Yet now, I charge thee, quickly go again. 
As thou art lief and dear, and do the thing 
I bade thee, watch, and lightly bring me word.'* 

Then went Sir Bedivere the second time 250 

Across the ridge, and paced beside the mere. 
Counting the dewy pebbles, fix'd in thought; 
But when he saw the wonder of the hilt. 



IQO IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

How curiously and strangely chased, he smote 
His palms together, and he cried aloud: 

" And if indeed I cast the brand away, 
Surely a precious thing, one worthy note. 
Should thus be lost forever from the earth. 
Which might have pleased the eyes of many men. 
What good should follow this, if this were done ? 
What harm, undone? Deep harm to disobey, 
Seeing obedience is the bond of rule. 
Were it well to obey then, if a king demand 
An act unprofitable, against himself? 
The King is sick, and knows not what he does. 
What record, or what relic of my lord 
Should be to aftertime, but empty breath 
And rumors of a doubt? But were this kept, 
Stored in some treasure-house of mighty kings, 
Some one might show it at a joust of arms, 
Saying, ' King Arthur's sword, Excalibur, 
Wrought by the lonely maiden of the Lake. 
Nine years she wrought it, sitting in the deeps 
Upon the hidden bases of the hills.' 
So might some old man speak in the aftertime 
To all the people, winning reverence. 
But now much honor and much fame were lost.'' 

So spake he, clouded with his own conceit. 
And hid Excalibur the second time. 
And so strode back slow to the wounded King. 

Then spoke King Arthur, breathing heavily: 
*' What is it thou hast seen? or what hast heard?" 

And answer made the bold Sir Bedivere: 
" I heard the water lapping on the crag. 
And the long ripple washing in the reeds." 



THE PASSING OF ARTHUR. I91 

To whom replied King Arthur, much in wrath: 
** Ah, miserable and unkind, untrue, 
Unknightly, traitor-hearted ! Woe is me ! 
Authority forgets a dying king, 

Laid widow'd of the power in his eye 290 

That bow'd the will. I see thee what thou art, 
For thou, the latest-left of all my knights, 
In whom should meet the offices of all. 
Thou wouldst betray me for the precious hilt; 
Either from lust of gold, or like a girl 
Valuing the giddy pleasure of the eyes. 
Yet, for a man may fail in duty twice. 
And the third time may prosper, get thee hence: 
But, if thou spare to fling Excalibur, 
I will arise and slay thee with my hands." 300 

Then quickly rose Sir Bedivere, and ran, 
And, leaping down the ridges lightly, plunged 
Among the bulrush beds, and clutch'd the sword, 
And strongly wheel'd and threw it. The great brand 
Made lightnings in the splendor of the moon, 
And flashing round and round, and whirl'd in an arch, 
Shot like a streamer of the northern morn, 
Seen where the moving isles of winter shock 
By night, with noises of the Northern Sea. 
So flash'd and fell the brand Excalibur: 310 

But ere he dipt the surface, ro.se an arm 
Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful. 
And caught him by the hilt, and brandish'd him 
Three times, and drew him under in the mere. 
And lightly went the other to the King. 

Then spoke King Arthur, drawing thicker breath: 
" Now see I by thine eyes that this is done. 
Speak out: what is it thou hast heard, or seen? " 



192 IDYLLS OF THE KING. 

And answer made the bold Sir Bedivere: 
" Sir King, I closed mine eyelids, lest the gems 320 

Should blind my purpose, for I never saw, 
Nor shall see, here or elsewhere, till I die, 
Not tho' I live three lives of mortal men. 
So great a miracle as yonder hilt. 
Then with both hands I flung him, wheeling him; 
But when I look'd again, behold an arm. 
Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful. 
That caught him by the hilt and brandish'd him 
Three times, and drew him under in the mere." 

And answer made King Arthur, breathing hard: 330 
** My end draws nigh ; 't is time that I were gone. 
Make broad thy shoulders to receive my weight, 
And bear me to the margin ; yet I fear 
My wound hath taken cold, and I shall die." 

So saying, from the pavement he half rose. 
Slowly, with pain, reclining on his arm, 
And looking wistfully with wide blue eyes 
As in a picture. Him Sir Bedivere 
Remorsefully regarded thro' his tears, 

And would have spoken, but he found not words; 340 

Then took with care, and kneeling on one knee, 
O'er both his shoulders drew the languid hands. 
And rising bore him thro' the place of tombs. 

But, as he walk'd, King Arthur panted hard, 
Like one that feels a nightmare on his bed 
When all the house is mute. So sigh'd the King, 
Muttering and murmuring at his ear, ** Quick, quick \ 
I fear it is too late, and I shall die." 
But the other swiftly strode from ridge to ridge, 
Clothed with his breath, and looking, as he walk'd, 3^:0 



'S 



THE PASSING OF ARTHUR. 193 

Larger than human on the frozen hills. 

He heard the deep behind him, and a cry 

Before. His own thought drove him like a goad. 

Dry clash'd his harness in the icy caves 

And barren chasms, and all to left and right 

The bare black cliff clang'd round him, as he based 

His feet on juts of slippery crag that rang ,- 

Sharp-smitten with the dint of armed heels — 

And on a sudden, lo ! the level lake, 

And the long glories of the winter moon. 360 

Then saw they how there hove a dusky barge, 
Dark as a funeral scarf from stem to stern, 
Beneath them; and descending they were ware 
That all the decks were dense with stately forms, 
Black-stoled, black-hooded, like a dream — by these 
Three Queens with crowns of gold : and from them rose 
A cry that shiver'd to the tingling stars, 
And, as it were one voice, an agony 
Of lamentation, like a wind that shrills 
All night in a waste land, wh^re no one comes, 370 

Or hath come, since the making of the world. 

Then murmur'd Arthur, *' Place me in the barge." 
So to the barge they came. There those three Queens 
Put forth their hands, and took the King, and wept. 
But she, that rose the tallest of them all 
And fairest, laid his head upon her lap. 
And loosed the shatter'd casque, and chafed his hands, 
And call'd him by his name, complaining loud, 
And dropping bitter tears against a brow 
Striped with dark blood : for all his face was white 380 
And colorless, and like the wither'd moon 
Smote by the fresh beam of the springing east ; 
And all his greaves and cuisses dash'd with drops 



194 IDYLLS OF THE KING, 

Of onset; and the light and lustrous curls — 

That made his forehead like a rising sun 

High from the dais-throne — were parch'd with dust; 

Or, clotted into points and hanging loose, 

Mix'd with the knightly growth that fringed his lips. 

So like a shatter'd column lay the King; 

Not like that Arthur who, with lance in rest, 390 

From spur to plume a star of tournament, 

Shot thro' the lists at Camelot, and charged 

Before the eyes of ladies and of kings. 

Then loudly cried the bold Sir Bedivere: 
"Ah! my Lord Arthur, whither shall I go? 
Where shall I hide my forehead and my eyes? 
For now I see the true old times are dead, 
When every morning brought a noble chance. 
And every chance brought out a noble knight. 
Such times have been not since the light that led 400 

The holy Elders with the gift of myrrh. 
But now the whole Round Table is dissolved 
Which was an image of the mighty world 
And I, the last, go forth companionless. 
And the days darken round me, and the years, 
Among new men, strange faces, other minds." 

And slowly answer'd Arthur from the barge: 
" The old order changeth, yielding place to new. 
And God fulfils himself in many ways, 
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world. 41G 

Comfort thyself: what comfort is in me? 
I have lived my life, and that which I have done 
May He within himself make pure ! but thou. 
If thou shouldst never see my face again, 
Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer 
Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice 



THE PASSING OF ARTHUR. I95 

Rise like a fountain for me night and day. 

For what are men better than sheep or goats 

That nourish a bhnd Hfe within the brain, 

If, knowing God, they hft not hands of prayer 420 

Both for themselves and those who call them friend? 

For so the whole round earth is every way 

Bound by gold chains about the feet of God. 

But now farewell. I am going a long way 

With these thou seest — if indeed I go 

(For all my mind is clouded with a doubt) — 

To the island-valley of Avilion; 

Where falls not hail, or rain, or any snow, 

Nor ever wind blows loudly; but it lies 

Deep-meadow'd, happy, fair with orchard lawns 430 

And bowery hollows crown'd with summer sea, 

Where I will heal me of my grievous wound." 

So said he, and the barge with oar and sail 
Moved from the brink, like some full-breasted swan 
That, fluting a wild carol ere her death, 
Ruffles her pure cold plume, and takes the flood 
With swarthy webs. Long stood Sir Bedivere 
Revolving many memories, till the hull 
Look'd one black dot against the verge of dawn, 
And on the mere the wailing died away. 440 

But when that moan had past for evermore. 
The stillness of the dead world's winter dawn 
Amazed him, and he groan'd, " The King is gone." 
And therewithal came on him the weird rhyme, 
" From the great deep to the great deep he goes." 

Whereat he slowly turn'd and slowly clomb 
The last hard footstep of that iron crag; 
Thence mark'd the black hull moving yet, and cried, 



196 IDYLLS OF THE KING, 

" He passes to be King among the dead, 

And after healing of his grievous wound 450 

He comes again ; but — if he come no more — 

O me, be yon dark Queens in yon black boat, 

Who shriek'd and wail'd, the three whereat we gazed 

On that high day, when, clothed with living light, 

They stood before his throne in silence, friends 

Of Arthur, who should help him at his need ? " 

Then from the dawn it seem'd there came, but faint, 
As from beyond the limit of the world, 
Like the last echo born of a great cry. 
Sounds, as if some fair city were one voice 460 

Around a king returning from his wars. 

Thereat once more he moved about, and clomb 
Ev'n to the highest he could climb, and saw, 
Straining his eyes beneath an arch of hand. 
Or thought he saw, the speck that bare the King, 
Down that long water opening on the deep 
Somewhere far off, pass on and on, and go 
From less to less and vanish into light. 
And the new sun rose bringing the new year. 



NOTES. 



THE COMING OF ARTHUR. 

Line i. Cameliard is supposed to be Scotland. 

4, The name Guinevere appears in many forms. Welsh bards 
call her Gwenhwyvar; Geoffrey of Monmouth calls her Guanhu- 
mara. 

5. Brut (Brutus), Lear, and Cassibelan are the best known of 
the petty kings of Britain. 

8. The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, who invaded Britain at this 
time, were the heathen host here referred to. 

13. Aurelius is said to have been Uther's brother. 

15. The use of " either " in this line is a common archaism. Note 
the large number used in this poem. 

17. There were one hundred and fifty seats at the Round Table. 
One of these was called the Siege Perilous, because it swallowed up 
anyone daring to sit in it who was not pure in word, thought, and 
deed. Sir Galahad was the only one of the knights who could sit 
in it. In this line the expression " Table Round " is used to de- 
note King Arthur's knights. 

29. Popular traditions, whether true or not, relate that wolves 
have sometimes stolen children and cared for them as for their 
own young. Children thus reared, however, have never been 
known to arrive at maturity. Perhaps in this is the foundation for 
the old belief in the were-wolf. Compare the story of Romulus 
and Remus, or of Mowgli in the " Jungle Book." 

34. Littledale suggests this is probably a reference to Gildas, who 
says that the Britons wrote to the Roman senate : " The barbarians 
drive us into the sea; the sea throws us back on the barbarians; 
thus two modes of death await us — we are either slain or drowned." 

36. Urien is called Rience in the first edition of the poem and 
in Malory. He was a king of North Wales. Malory tells us that 
he sent to Arthur insolently demanding his beard, to complete the 
mantle edged with kings' beards which he was making. 

y2. Gorlois was the first husband of Arthur's mother, Ygerne, 
and was Duke of Tintagil in Cornwall. 

TZ- Anton is the Sir Hector of the romance. Merlin had given 
the baby Arthur to him to be brought up. 

94-133 are not in the first edition. What are the particular rea- 
sons for their introduction? 

99. Is this a possibility? 

106. The " Powers " here referred to probably typify the magical 
aid that was constantly used by Merlin to help Arthur. 

197 



I go NOTES. 

130. Each had guarded. 

132. Littledale thus explains this expression: A man's promise 
is a divine thing; therefore it must be regarded as especially sacred. 

124— 133. Remember this first mention of Lancelot, and see if the 
promises made by him and Arthur were kept. 

141. Compare " holp " with " clomb " in the " Lotus Eaters." 
It is rather a pity we have lost these strong preterits from our 
modern speech. 

160-162. That is, not at all. 

166. The cuckoo steals its nest. Since Arthur is said to be the 
son of Uther, the application is plain. 

186. Tintagil is a small town on the Bristol Channel in Cornwall, 
near Camelford. There are the ruins of a castle there. The fol- 
lowing are extracts from Tennyson's journal of a tour in Cornwall 
in 1848, when he was preparing the '* Idylls " : 

" Sunday. — Went and sat in Tintagil ruins, cliff all black and red 
and yellow, weird-looking thing. 

" yth. Camelford, Slaughter Bridge, clear brook among alders. 
Sought for King Arthur's stone, found it at last by a rock under 
two or three sycamores." 

187. Other forms are Igraine, Igrayne, Igerna. 

194. She loathed " the guilty splendor of King Uther's love." — 
Littledale. 

22S- Alludes to the episode of the sword in the anvil. See in- 
troduction. 

244. Bellicent was Arthur's half-sister. See line 189, above. 

247. That is, will soon melt a\vay. 

261. The vows are given thus in another one of the Idylls: 

" My knights are sworn to vows 
Of utter hardihood, utter gentleness, 
And loving utter gentleness in love. 
And uttermost obedience to the king." 

See also " Guinevere," lines 463-473. 

268, 269, 270. Why? 

275. These queens (who appear again in "The Passing of Ar- 
thur") symbolize Faith, Hope, and Charity (Love). 

279. Mage Merlin symbolizes the intellect of man. 

282. The Lady of the Lake symbolizes the church. Notice the 
appropriateness of all the details of this description, and explain 
the peculiar force of each of them. 

284. Samite was a cloth made of silk interwoven with gold or 
silver thread. It is a favorite word with Tennyson. 

285. " And as they rode, Arthur said, I have no sword. No 
force, said Merlin, hereby is a sword that shall be yours and I may. 
So they rode till they came to a lake, the which was a fair water 
and broad, and in the midst of the lake Arthur was ware of an 
arm clothed in white samite, that held a fair sword in that hand. 
Lo, said Merlin, yonder is that sword that I spake of. With that 
they saw a damsel going upon the lake. What damsel is that? 
said Arthur. That is the Lady of the Lake, said Merlin. Anon 
withal came the damsel unto Arthur and saluted him, and he her 



NOTES. 199 

again. Damsel, said Arthur, what sword is that, that yonder the 
arm holdeth above the water? I would it were mine, for I have 
no sword. Sir Arthur king, said the damsel, that sword is mine, 
and if ye will give me a gift when 1 ask it you, ye shall have it. 
By my faith, said Arthur, I will give you what gift ye will ask. Well, 
said the damsel, go ye into yonder barge and row yourself to the 
sword and take it and the scabbard with you, and I will ask my 
gift when I see my time." — Malory. 

290. ** A voice as of the waters." See Rev. i. 15. " And his 
[Christ's] voice as the voice of many waters." 

294. "There." Where? 

294. " The name of it, said the lady, is Excalibur, that is as much 
to say as Cut-steel." — Malory. 

According to the old romance of Merhn, the inscription on the 
sword was as follows: 

" Ich am yhote Escaliboure, 
Unto a kinge fair tresore. 
(On Englis is this writing, 
Kerve steel, and yron, and all thing.)" 

In early times it was customary for a warrior to have a name 
for his favorite sword. Excalibur is the most famous of all. 

297. The Sword is described in '* The Passing of Arthur," lines 
224-226. 

298. The expression " elfin Urim " has reference to the mystic 
appearance of jewels on the breast-plate of the Jewish high-priest. 
See Exodus xxviii. 15-30. "Urim" means Lights, and it is said to 
be ellin because the jewels had a magic or fairy signification. 

301. Hebrew. 

319-324. The bent of the youths is thus early shown. 

334. 335- What would this indicate? 

346. The power of a witch or wizard to walk unseen was a mat- 
ter of general belief. Even ordinary mortals, it was said, could walk 
unseen if they would scatter fernseed in their shoes. 

362. *' One injury of a very serious nature was supposed to be 
constantly practised by the fairies against the human mortals, that 
of carrying off their children and breeding them as beings of their 
race. Unchristened infants were chiefly exposed to this calamity." 
— Scott's " Demonology and Witchcratt." Changelings were sup- 
posed to be recognized by their shrivelled and pinched faces. 

367. Compare with the story as told in the romance. 

379. The Romans used to say the tenth wave was the largest. 
What do we say now? 

389. Why? 

401. Most of the early Welsh and Breton poetry is in this form. 
See " Gareth and Lynette," 280 : 

" Know ye not then the Riddling of the Bards, 
* Confusion, and illusion, and relation, 
Elusion, and occasion, and evasion? ' " 

402-410. This song should be carefully interpreted. Stopford 
Brooke says of it, " The graciousness of the rivulet-music and soft 



200 NOTES. 

play of nature is in the lines of this delicate song, and the gayety 
of youth; and mingled with these the deep and favorite thought 
of Tennyson of the pre-existence of the soul." 
408, 409. 

" Flower in the crannied wall, 
I pluck you out of the crannies, 
I hold you here, root and all, in my hand, 
Little flower — but if I could understand 
What you are, root and all, and all in all, 
I should know what God and man is." 

420. Compare with Malory: "Yet some men say in many parts 
of England that King Arthur is not dead, but had by the will of 
our Lord Jesu in another place. And men say that he shall come 
again, and he shall win the holy cross. I will not say it shall be 
so, but rather I will say, here in this world he changed his life. 
But many men say there is written upon his tomb this verse, * Hie 
jacet Arthurus Rex quondam Rexque futurus.' " 

The Britons, even at a late date, used to cry aloud at their feasts, 
" Non le roi Arthur n'est pas mort." 

There are similar legends about many other leaders of ancient 
times, for instance Barbarossa and Wilhelm Tell. 

429. Compare with these lines in the " Dedication to the Queen " : 

" That gray king, whose name, a ghost. 
Streams like a cloud, man-shaped, from mountain peak." 

431. The farm servant dies in the fight, and the cattle are driven 
ofif as plunder. 

425-443. The dreams in the " Idylls " should be carefully noted 
and interpreted. 

446-451. Read Tennyson's earlier poem, " Sir Lancelot and 
Queen Guinevere." 

454. " The king was wedded at Camelot unto Dame Guinever in 
the church of St. Stephen's, with great solemnity." — Malory. 

460. Hawthorn blooms are here called May. 

467. Compare with lines 131-133, above. 

481-501. Notice " the very rattle and shattering of the vowels in 
the words." — Brooke. 

488. " There's such divinity doth hedge a king." — Shakespeare. 

504. Rome had been obliged before this time to withdraw her 
soldiers from Britain. She needed all her legions at home to pro- 
tect her against the barbarian hordes from the north. 

508. This line should be remembered. It is often quoted. 

511. Several walls were built by the Romans across north Eng- 
land and fortified to keep out raids of the Picts and Scots. Re- 
mains are still to be seen. The one built by the Emperor Hadrian 
was the strongest. 

517. Compare with "Lancelot and Elaine," 286-309. 

" In the curt answer to the Roman envoys, and the words ' Ar- 
thur strove with Rome.' the poet in a few lines disposes of an 
amount of pseudo-history that occupies nearly half of Geoffrey's 
entire narrative. But even Tennyson's brief allusion to Arthur's 



NOTES. 201 

Roman war has no foundation in history. The Britons were too 
weak to drive the heathen, the Picts and Scots, from the Roman 
wall themselves, and hence they called in the Saxons to help them 
after the Romans had finally declined to ai^ford further aid. This 
tribute even is a myth. — LittledaU. 

TOPICS FOR A WRITTEN REVIEW OF THE POEM. 

a. Comparison of Tennyson's version of the story with that of the 

romance. 

b. Diction of the poem. 

1. Archaisms. 

2. Fine lines — musical, forceful, expressive. 

3. Songs. 

C, Symbolism of the poem. 

GARETH AND LYNETTE. 

1. Bellicent. Tennyson calls her thus, adopting the name from 
one of the old romances; but in Malory she is called Morgause. 
She was the eldest daughter of Gorlois and Ygerne. See " The 
Coming of Arthur," 189. 

2. " In a showerful spring." The idylls are planned to follow the 
changing round of a year, from the birth of Arthur, " the night of 
the new year," through the " showerful spring " of the adventures 
of the youth Gareth, the " full summer " of Elaine, and the " yel- 
lowing autumn-tide " of the Last Tournament, to " that day when 
the great light of heaven burned at his lowest in the rolling year," 
when Arthur's last battle is fought. 

3. " Spate." An Irish and Scotch word meaning a river-flood. 
As Lot's house was in Orkney, there is a special fitness in the use 
of this old Gaelic word. 

18. " Yield." This word is derived from the Old High German 
geltan, to pay or restore. Hence it came to mean to pay up or 
give up, and we usually understand it in this sense now. But to 
Chaucer or Shakespeare it also meant to pay in the sense of reward- 
ing. Tennyson uses it with the latter meaning. 

21. " Ever-highering." Why not a verb higher as well as the 
verb lower? But it is not used elsewhere. 

22. " Sun of Glory." Arthur. 

25, 26. Gawain and Modred were his elder brothers. See " The 
Coming of Arthur," 243. The name Gawain is usually accented 
on the first syllable; rarely on the last, as in line 553, " Lancelot 
and Elaine." 

27. " Proven knight." One who " had done one noble deed " 
(line 403). , , , . 

45. " Palm." The tree, the symbol of victory. 

46. "Book of Hours." A prayer book with illuminated margins 
&nd initials, so called because it contained the prayers for the seven 



202 NOTES, 

canonical hours of the day, matins, prime, tierce, sext, nones, ves- 
pers, and compline. 

51. " Leash." Three hounds were fastened together with a thong, 
called a leash. So the word came to mean a group of three persons 
or things. Used as an indefinite number here. 

56. " Clomb." See note on line 141, " The Coming of Arthur." 

59, 60. This means, if the "one that had loved him from his child- 
hood " had truly loved, he would have risked his own safety to 
obtain the treasure for the boy he was guarding. 

65. " This," symbolizing the sword he hoped worthily to carry. 

70. " Him." What is the antecedent? 

75-77. According to Malory, Lot had been killed before this time 
in the battle he ventured against Arthur. 

80. " No more " than a corpse. 

89. " Frights." In apposition with shocks and falls. 

94. " Prone." Declining years. 

122. " Frequent." An adjective here. 

135. " Idolaters." The Angles and Saxons. 

147. " Quick." Quick means living, as in the words in the Prayer 
Book, " the quick and the dead." Hence it means anything living 
or sensitive, and we speak of cutting the nail to the quick. " To 
prove to the quick " is to prove in some way which should touch 
him in a sensitive part. 

151. " Kitchen-knaves." A knave meant originally merely a boy, 
as its modern German form Knabe still does. Many words which 
in early English had perfectly reputable meanings have now degener- 
ated. A villain was merely a villager or serf, and a churl was a man. 

152. " Bar." The bar separating the pantry or buttery from the 
dining-hall. Across it the " kitchen-boys " passed the dishes. 

154. " A twelvemonth and a day." A common expression for a 
fu.l year, the day being added to offset any mistake in the count. 

157. " Villain." See note on line 151. 

158. " Princely-proud." Tennyson is fond of making alliterative 
compound adjectives. Some of the best in this poem are " deep- 
dimpled," " crag-carven," " storm-strengthened," " gloomy-gladed." 

185-193. Another description of Camelot is given in " The Holy 
Grail," lines 227-245: 

" For all the sacred mount of Camelot, 
And all the dim rich city, roof by roof. 
Tower after tower, spire beyond spire, 
By grove, and garden-lawn, and rushing brook, 
Climbs to the mighty hall that Merlin built. 
And four great zones of sculpture, set betwixt 
With many a mystic symbol, gird the hall : 
And in the lowest beasts are slaying men, 
And in the second men are slaying beasts. 
And on the third are warriors, perfect men, 
And on the fourth are men with growing wings, 
And over all one statue in the mould 
Of Arthur, made by Merlin, with a crown, 



NOTES. 203 

And peak'd wings pointed to the Northern Star. 

And eastward fronts the statue, and the crown 
And both the wings are made of gold, and flame 
At sunrise till the people in far fields. 
Wasted so often by the heathen hordes, 
Behold it, crying, " We have still a king." 

185. Camelot. For its situation, see note on ," Lancelot and 
Elaine," line 22,, and map. 

200. " Changeling." See note on line 362, " The Coming of 
Arthur." 

207. "Arabian sea." It was a medi.xval belief that plunging a 
magician into the Red Sea destroyed his magic powers. 

212. " The Lady of the Lake." See note on line 282, " The Com- 
ing of Arthur." In the old romances there are several water-fairies 
or "ladies of the lake," one of whom brought up Lancelot. (See 
introduction to " Lancelot and Elaine.") Tennyson's Lady of the 
Lake is a far more spiritual and mystical being than these, person- 
ifying the deepest truths of the Christian religion. 

212, 213. "All her dress wept from her sides." The dress sym- 
bolizes the outward forms of religion which are constantly changing 
and are " unstable as water." 

" The old order changeth, giving place to new, 
And God fulfils himself in many ways." 

216. " Drops of water." Possibly symbolizing the baptismal 
water. 

218. " Either worn with wind and storm." Both defaced by the 
weather. 

219. " Sacred fish." The fish was a symbol of Christianity in 
early times, often used as a watchword among the persecuted 
Christians. The Greek word for fisli is 'X^"s. and the letters of the 
word form the initials of the phrase, 'Irjaois Xp^nhs^ ©eoD Xi6s, Swr^p 
" Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour." 

22^. " Inveteratcly." From the Latin word inveteratus, which is 
used of habits which have existed so long that they are too deep- 
seated to be shaken off. Here inveteratcly practically means com- 
pletely (co-twisted). Wordsworth uses it in the same sense. 

225. " Three Queens." See note on line 275. " The Coming of 
Arthur." 

229. " Dragon-boughts." Coils. Bought is the word which Spen- 
ser uses in the same connection. It is an old Scandinavian word 
coming from the same root as the word bow, to bend. 

" Elvish." Usually spelled elfish. 

230. " Seethe." Move as if boiling. 
236. " An ancient man." Merlin. 

248. " Playing on him." Making sport of him. 

249. Referring to the phenomena of mirage. 
252. " Here is truth :" i. c, the city is a real city. 

254-259. The old seer is jokingly humoring the youthful fancy 
of the lad. 



204 NOTES. 

258. As the walls of Troy and Thebes rose. 

265. " Thrall." An old Norse word meaning originally a runner 
or messenger, hence a slave. * 

273, 274. The old man follows out the fanciful explanation of the 
city which rose magically and was " therefore never built at all," 
and is "therefore built forever"; i.e., the enchantment continues 
forever. 

280. See note on " The Coming of Arthur," line 401. The bards 
were the early Celtic or British poets, to whom were ascribed even 
prophetic gifts; and as prophecies in every language have always 
had, necessarily, an ambiguity of expression, the verses of the bards 
are well called " riddling." The next two lines are a good example 
of a tangle of words which may mean nothing or a great deal, as 
after events may require. They are given merely as a mocking 
specimen of the " Riddling of the Bards." 

293. " She." His mother. 

298. " Who did their days." Had the record of their reigns carved 
in stone. 

299. " Mage." Magician. The Magi were originally the priests 
of the Medes and Persians. 

302. " Spire." Raise many spires. The word is a verb here. 

306. " Bower." Obsolete word for a chamber. It was applied 
especially to women's apartments. 

314. " Delivering doom." Pronouncing judgment- 

318. " In fear." Of recognition. 

ZZZ- " Whether." Which of the two. 

351. " Seized of." Possessed of. Still used in this sense in law. 

355- " Wreak me." Avenge me. 

359. Sir Kay, the seneschal. A seneschal was a steward. The 
word is connected with the Latin senatus, and meant at first an old 
servant, the last syllable coming from the old German word for 
slave. 

Sir Kay was the son of Sir Hector, who had been foster-father 
to Arthur. As the king's foster-brother, he became steward of his 
household and manager of his lands. Both in the romances and in 
Tennyson, he appears always as bad-tempered, brusque, and generally 
discourteous, the " Thersites of the old romance writers." 

362. " Gyve and gag." A scolding woman might be punished by 
fetters which should fasten her to a ducking-stool, or by a kind of 
hood which included a gag. 

367. " Aurelius Emrys." See note on line 13, " The Coming of 
Arthur." 

376. Mark, King of Cornwall, was a character almost as cowardly 
and treacherous as Modred. He was the husband of Isolt of Ire- 
land, whose love through a magic potion had been given to Tristram 
while she was the af^anced bride of Mark. Mark at length treach- 
erously murders Tristram. The story is partly told in " The Last 
Tournament." 

380. " Charlock." Wild mustard. 

386. " Cousin." Tristram was his nephew, but cousin was for- 
merly used to signify any such blood relationship. 



NOTES, 205 

387. Greater state than Tristram. 

398. " Blazon'd." With heraldic colors on them. 

" Blank." A term in heraldry for a shield which bears no 
arms and is white in color. 

411. " Reave." Rob or deprive. 

422. " Lap him up in cloth of lead." An allusion to the old cus- 
tom of wrapping a corpse in sheet lead. " All thy friends are lapt 
in lead." — Burnfield, in Passionate Pilgrim. 

431. At this point, the story as told by Malory begins. " Right 
so came into the hall two men well beseen and richly, and upon 
their shoulders there leaned the goodliest young man and the fairest 
that ever they all saw, and he was large and long and broad in the 
shoulders, and well visaged, and the fairest and the largest handed 
that ever man saw, but he fared as though he might not go nor 
bear himself, but if he leaned upon their shoulders." — Morte 
Darthur. 

447. " Brewis." Broth. 

454. " Fluent." Flowing. 

465. " Sir Fair-hands." In the " Morte Darthur," Sir Kay names 
him in mockery " Beaumains, that is Fair-hands"; and from that 
point on he is always called Beaumains. 

470. " And so Sir Kay bad get him a place and sit down to meat, 
so Beaumains went to the hall door, and set him down among boys 
and lads, and there he eat sadly." — Morte Darthur. 

476. " Broach." Spit. 

488-490. Still another legend of Arthur's coming. 

490. " Caer-Eryri." Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. 

491. " The Prophet." Merlin. See " The Coming of Arthur," 
418-421. 

492. " The Isle Avilion." See note on line 427, " The Passing of 
Arthur." It was the Paradise of the Celts. 

495. Note the birdlike lilt of the last part of the line. 

508-514. " But ever when that he saw any justing of kniglfts, that 
would he see and he might. . . . And where were any masteries 
done thereat would he be, and there might none cast bar nor stone 
to him by two yards." — Morte Darthur. 

515. In the " Morte Darthur" he serves the full twelve months. 

519. " Between the in-crescent and de-crescent moon." Between 
the waxing and the waning of the moon, i.e., at the time of the full 
moon. 

524. The lists in a tournament were oval. 

528. " Peter's knee." Peter held the keys of heaven. 

535- " Quest." The search of a knight for an adventure. 

549. " Mellow." Sweet-tempered. 

571. See line 659, " Lancelot and Elaine." 

584. " Hold." The loneliest castle. 

586. " Best blood." The wine of the sacrament. 

595. A bit of naive vanity on Lynette's part, quite in. keeping with 
her character. 

607. " Wed ... a holy life." A nun is said to become the bride 
of Christ. 



2o6 NOTES. 

6i6. Behaving like a knight or like a beast, as momentary im- 
pulse prompts. 
619. The three names are in apposition with the Day. 
624. " Mounted." Surmounted. 
638, The king frowned for a moment. 

648. " Weird white gate." See lines 209-226. 

649. " The field of tourney." It is mentioned in " Lancelot and 
^Jaine " as " The lists by Camelot, in the meadow." 

655. " Blowing." Covered with blossoms in this early spring. 

657. "Counter." Opposite. 

671. " Dull-coated things." Some kinds of beetles with heavy 
jlack wings disclose on flight iridescent hues beneath. 

677. " Storm-strengthen'd." The wood of trees growing in a 
olace exposed to wind and weather becomes the tougher for that 
reason. 

693. " The King hath past his time." The king must have en- 
tered his dotage. 

697. " Begone! " Said to the thralls. 

717, 718. Contrast with lines 684, 685. 

729. " A foul-fleshed agaric in the holt." An ill-smelling fungus 
in the wood. 

730. " Carrion." The putrefying body. 

731. Some species of shrews and weasels emit a disagreeable odor 
at times. 

740. " Shoulder-slipt." With shoulder dislocated. 

746-763. " When he had overtaken the damsel anon she said, 
What doest thou here? thou stinkest all of the kitchen, thy clothes 
be foul of the grease and tallow that thou gainedst in king Arthur's 
kitchen; weenest thou, said she, that I allow thee for yonder knight 
that thou killedst? Nay truly, for thou slewest him unhappily and 
cowardly, therefore turn again foul kitchen page. I know thee well, 
for Sir Kay named thee Beaumains; what art thou but a lubber and 
a turner of spits, and a ladle washer? Damsel, said Beaumains, 
say to me what ye will, I will not go from you whatsoever ye say, 
for I have undertaken to king Arthur for to achieve your adven- 
ture, and so shall I finish it to the end, or I shall die therefore. 
Fie on thee, kitchen knave, wilt thou finish mine adventure? thou 
shalt anon be met withall, that thou wouldest not for all the broth 
that ever thou suppedst once look him in the face. I shall assay, 
said Beaumains." — Mortc Darthur. 

749. " Unhappiness." Accident, bad hap, or luck. 

768. The king's highway was the one safe road through the wood. 

770. " Both," i.e., of us. 

773. " Evensong." The vesper service. 

779. " Eagle-owl." A name given to various large species of the 
owl family. The simile is especially felicitous, including as it does 
in one line the shape and color of the mere, and also a hint of its 
mysterious and gloomy character. 

796. " Oilily bubbled up the mere." Note the use of onomatopeia 

799. " Caitiff." Originally a captive, hence a miserable wretch. 

Boo. " Wreaked." See note to line 355. 



NOTES, 207 

804. " Wan " is a favorite word with Tennyson. See line 129, 
" The Passing of Arthur." 

806, 807. Alluding to the will-o'-the-wisp, or ignis fatuus, which 
flickers over the surface of stagnant water. 

806. " Grimly." An adjective having perhaps a slightly different 
meaning from grim. It signifies ghastly or horrible. 

817. " In a sort." " Yes, truly, he is of Arthur's table in a sort 
of way, since he is Arthur's scullion," bitingly remarks Lynette. 

828. " Gate." Provisions. 

829. A peacock in his pride is very appropriately set before 
Lynette. It was a culinary triumph to serve the bird with all his 
brilliant plumage at banquets. The peacock was a bird especially 
honored by the knights; when it appeared on the table "all the 
guests, male and female, took a solemn vow ; the knights vowing 
bravery, and the ladies engaging to be loving and faithful." — 
Stanley, History of Birds. 

832. " Fie, fie, said she, sir knight, ye are uncourteous to set a 
kitchen page afore me, him beseemeth better to stick a swine than 
to sit afore a damsel of high parentage." — Morte Darthur. 

839. " Frontless." Shameless. 

859. " For here be mighty men to joust with." Since these 
knights you must meet are so formidable. 

871. "Isled together." Taken refuge on the same island in a flood. 

873. "Ruth." Pity. 

881, 882. Referring to the old folk-tale of Ginderella, found in 
some form in all Aryan languages. 

889. " Lent-lily." The yellow daffodil. Note that the pavilion 
shows all the hues of the sunrise. 

899, 900. A cruel taunt, for no knight would attack another unless 
that one also were fully armed. 

908. " The stone Avanturine." A kind of quartz with bits of 
yellow mica in it. It takes a polish, and is sometimes called gold- 
stone. 

915, 916. All the points in the picture are cleverly impressed on 
the imagination by their repetition in the stream. 

934. " Lightly." Quickly. 

936, 937. " Said the black knight, now yield thy lady from thee, 
for it beseemeth never a kitchen page to ride with such a lady. 
Thou liest, said Beaumains, I am a gentleman born, and of more 
high lineage than thou, and that will I prove on thy body." — Morte 
Darthur. 

942, 943. Both were hurled backward off their horses. It was the 
custom to fight on foot then with swords. If the lances were broken 
in the meeting on horseback, but the knights were not unhorsed, 
they fought on horseback with swords. 

949-959. " And then the green knight cried him mercy, and 
yielded him unto Sir Beaumains and prayed him to slay him not. 
All is in vain, said Beaumains, for thou shalt die, but if this damsel 
that came with me pray me to save thy life. And therewithal he 
unlaced his helm, iike as he would slay him. Fie upon thee, false 
kitchen page, I will never pray thee to save his life, for I never will 



2o8 NOTES, 

be so much in thy danger [power.]. Then shall he die, said Beau- 
mains. Not so hardy thou foul knave, said the damsel, that thou 
slay him. . . . Let be, said the damsel, thou foul knave, slay him 
not for and thou do thou shall repent it. Damsel, said Beaumains, 
your charge is to me a pleasure, and at your commandment his 
life shall be saved, and else not." — Morte Darthur. 

951. " Grace." Favor. 

964. " Thy shield is mine." The victorious knight alw^ays took 
the shield of the vanquished one, and might also claim his armor 
and horse. 

971. " Lynette has now seen that he is a gentleman and no knave, 
and admiration of his valor awakens a different feeling in her heart. 
Her songs conceal rather than reveal this dawning love; maiden 
modesty will not permit her to abate one jot of her missayings and 
revilings." — Littledale. 

979. " Fool's parable." See lines 618-620. 

1002, 1003. *' The flower," etc. The dandelion. 

1008. " Marches." Borders. As Gareth bore the shield of the 
knight Morning-Star, his brother, the knight mistook him for his 
brother. 

"And then he cried aloud. Brother what do ye in these marches? 
Nay, nay, said the damsel, it is not he; this is but a kitchen knave, 
that was brought up for alms in king Arthur's court. Nevertheless, 
said the red knight, I will speak with him or he depart. Ah, said 
the damsel, this knave hath killed thy brother." — Morte Darthur. 

1012. " Vizoring." Drawing down the vizor of his helmet to 
cover his face. 

1013. " Cipher face," because it was so destitute of intelligence. 
1015-1021. Note the rhythm of the lines, imitative of the struggle. 
1032-1060. Lynette interrupts her song with comments to Gareth 

lest he should imagine by any chance that she is alluding to him. 
But " the lady doth protest too much, methinks." 

1048. It was the custom to decorate a boar's head with rosemary 
stuck in the nose, mouth, and ears. 

" The boar's head in hande bring I, 
With garlands gay and rosemary." 

1052. " Mavis, merle." Thrush and blackbird. 

1057. " Larding and basting." To lard is to cover meat with thin 
slices of fat before cooking; to baste is to pour the melted fat over 
the meat while it is roasting. 

1071. " Brother-star." He too supposes Gareth to be his brother, 
from the shield he bears. 

1099. " Foredooming." Anticipating. 

1101-1104. This and the simile in lines 1117 and iri8 are remark- 
ably fine. They exhibit in brief the two points in which Tennyson 
is pre-eminently great among poets, his insight into man's moral 
nature and his vivid perception of detail in nature. 

1 122. *' Unknightlike." When his sword was broken the laws of 
knighthood required that the knight should acknowledge himself 
vanquished. 



NOTES, 209 

1 125. " Cast." That is, threw him. 

1 130. "Trefoil." The three-leaved clover. 

" The songs of Lynette have a single, double, and triple reference, 
corresponding to the number of Gareth's victories: first victory, the 
morning-star, onefold; second victory, the sun and moon, flowers 
open and shut, birds' song at morn and eve, twofold ; third victory, 
trefoil (a Druidical sacred symbol), the three primitive colors of 
the rainbow, threefold." — Littledale. 

1 143. "Mistrusted." Suspected. 

1 147-1150. " Damsel, said Beaumains, a knight may little do that 
may not suffer a damsel." — Morte Darthur. 

1 163. " Comb." A Celtic word meaning a hollow in a hillside, 
the head of a valley. 

1 165. " Slowly-waning." Gradually fading, from the wind and 
weather. 

1 172, 1 173. " In letters," etc. Near the Gelt, a small stream in 
Cumberland, are the remains of Roman quarries, and here are some 
inscriptions cut in the limestone rock. The one referred to is the 
following: 

VEXL. LEG. II. AVG. ON. AP. APRO E. MAXIMO CON- 
SVLIBVS SVB. AGRICOLA OP. OFICINA MERCATI. 

A vexillary was a standard-bearer, and we gather from the in- 
scription that the words were carved by the standard-bearer of the 
second legion in the year 207 a.d. 

The place was doubtless familiar to Tennyson but is not one of 
general knowledge. 

1 174. The Latin words mean Morning Star, Midday, Evening 
Star, Night, Death. 

1230. " Issues." Comes. That is, by being vanquished we at 
last learn how to be victors. 

1236. " His." The king's. 

1 255- 1257. Extract from Lady Tennyson's diary, " Sept. 24, 1872. 
His lines on the honeysuckle in Gareth were made on the lawn 
about the honeysuckle that climbs up the house at Aldworth." 

Stopford Brooke says of the lines, they " might have been said by 
Jessica in the night scene in Portia's garden." 

1273. " Ramp." See lines 659, 660, " Lancelot and Elaine," and 
note on same. Here ramp is used as the imperative of the verb. 

1281. " Arthur's harp." Probably the bright star in the constella- 
tion of the Lyre. Only Tennyson calls it Arthur's harp. 

1314, " Devisings." Devices. ^ 

1318. "Fineness." Finesse. — "Instant." Urgent. 

1330. It is just before daylight, and the sky is beginning to show 
a red streak on the horizon. 

1343-1350- Note the broken lines, indicating the suspense and 
breathless waiting. The periodic form of the sentence also helps on 
the feeling of suspense. 

1362. His hair stood on end with horror. 

1364. " Him." The knight Death. 

1373. 1374- The allegorical meaning of this is too plain to require 
explanation. 



2IO NOTES. 

1386 See line 411, " Lancelot and Elaine." 

1389, 1390. " It is a modest creed, and yet 

Pleasant if one considers it, 
To own that Death itself must be 
Like all the rest, a mockery." 

— Shelley, The Sensitive Plant 

1392. Malory has Gareth marry Lyonors, and he describes with 
great minuteness the wedding festivities, " the great royalty, and 
what officers were made at the feast of the wedding, and of the 
justs at the feast." But " he that told it later," i.e., Tennyson, evi- 
dently prefers to have him marry Lynette. " No doubt she becomes 
a good wife to the hero of this Tennysonian Taming of the Shrew, 
but we are not given any glimpse of their after-history." — Littledale. 

LANCELOT AND ELAINE. 

2. Malory tells us that Astolat is the same as Guilford, in Surrey. 
Astolat is also called Ascolot in an old romance, from which comes 
the form Shalott. " The Lady of Shalott " is founded on this same 
story, but in that poem the lady is used as the type of the poet, 
who must not contaminate himself by contact with the world, on 
pain of losing the poetic inspiration. 

9. Blazonry must be in colors. 

23. Caerleon was Arthur's capital. It is supposed to have been 
the same as Monmouth in Wales. Camelot was a city where Arthur 
held court, said to be the present town of Queen's Camel in Somer- 
setshire. 

28. Notice that Tennyson begins with the middle of the story and 
goes back to its beginning. Why? 

35. Lyonnesse was the name of a district of Cornwall which was 
supposed to stretch between what is now Land's End and the 
Scilly Isles, but is now buried under the sea, 

36. Notice the use of primitive northern words in this passage — 
glen, bowlder, tarn, crag, shingly scaur. 

59. " Divinely " here means guided by Providence. 

65. The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes are again referred to as " the 
heathen." 

67. The word " still " has here the Shakespearean meaning — con- 
stantly, ever. 

76. London. 

94. The word " lets " has here its primitive meaning — hinders. 
Compare with " Hamlet": 

" I'll make a ghost of him that lets me." 

106. Notice the vigor of the condensed form, " myriad cricket." 

108. That is, all together make only a confused murmur amount- 
ing to nothing. 

118. " Devoir," duty of a knight to a lady. 

121, Notice the low plane of this speech. It gives the keynote 
to the failure of the married life of Arthur and Guinevere. 



NOTES. 211 

132. A famous line which should be remembered. 

134. Alluding to the colors of sunrise and sunset. 

135. The " bond " of marriage is here meant. 

145. The word " craft " has here its original meaning of skill. 
An instance of the degeneration of words. It now usually carries 
a suggestion of underhandedness. 

154. Notice the covert sneer. 

168. It was customary to hang a horn at the gateway of a castle 
so that the wayfarer might summon the gatekeeper. 

170. A knight could not remove his own armor. Hence the 
necessity for squires. 

199. A churl was the exact antithesis of a knight. 

201. " Allow him," that is, pardon him. 

230. How well Tennyson gives us a distinct idea of a man by a 
few words. 

236. Compare with " Sweets to the sweet." — Hamlet, v. i. 

246. The nobility of his nature is shown by the marks of strug- 
gle on his face. He is not a hardened sinner. 

259. Notice the short Saxon words. Why forceful here? 

269. " Glanced at," that is, referred to lightly. 

279. This was a battle of actual occurrence. The Britons in the 
year 520 here checked the progress of the West Saxons. The bat- 
tle is said to have occurred on Badbury Hill in Dorsetshire. 
Legend says Arthur alone killed 940 in it. All the other battles 
here mentioned are mythical. 

297. The White Horse was the national emblem of the Saxon 
chiefs. On a chalk hill in Berkshire is cut a figure of a white 
horse to commemorate a victory of Alfred over the Danes in 871. 
It is 374 feet long, and can be seen at a distance of fifteen miles. 

314. '■ The fire of God." See " The Coming of Arthur," 127. 

325. Had striven to entertain him. 

338. The word " rathe " was formerly used to mean early. Our 
word rather is its comparative form. 

338. Half cheating herself. 

347. To flatter was originally to pet, to stroke. 

356. Any trifle, as a sleeve, ribbon, or glove, worn by a knight as a 
token from his lady was known as a favor. 

377. Why was the shield " yet-unblazon'd "? 

381. " It is a favor to me, the second to-day." The squire bore 
the shield of his knight. 

396. This line brings us to the beginning of the poem. 

409. Remember how leaves rustle in the rain. Noise is used in 
the archaic sense of pleasant sound. 

422. Arthur is called Pendragon because he is the son of Uther 
Pendragon. The name is said to have originated from the follow- 
ing occurrence. In a battle between Uther and the Saxons a ter- 
rible dragon appeared in the air, breathing out smoke and flame. 
The Saxons were dismayed, and Merlin told Uther to attack the 
enemy boldly and said, " All the island shall submit to thee, for 
thou art the fiery dragon." Uther is called Pendragon, or Dragon's 
Head, from this. 

431. See *' The Coming of Arthur," 284. 



Z.L2 NOTES. 

444-450. Generous and noble and modest reply. The last part is 
from the famous saying of Socrates when informed that the 
Delphic oracle had pronounced him the wisest of the Greeks. He 
merely remarked that he might be the wisest since he knew that 
he knew nothing while ihe others knew not even so much. 

457. If anyone had failed to come to the joust. 

465. The knights of the Round Table held the lists, that is, await- 
ed the attack. 

473. Elaine's suggestion proves true, 

482. Alluding to the spray. 

484. That is, him that steers it. 

489. Malory says, " And Sir Lavaine did full well that day, for 
he smote down ten knights of the Table Round." 

502. Such phrases as " diamond me no diamonds " are used as a 
form of indignant denial by Shakespeare. 

514. Malory's words are, " Gave a great shriek and a marvellous 
grisly groan." 

525. The marches were the boundary lands. Mark is another 
form of the same word. Such a lord was called a marquis. 

534. " Pass," die. 

545. " Bring us " word. 

557. It is hard to forgive Tennyson the change he makes in the 
character of this knight. In the romance he is second only to 
Lancelot in knightly courtesy and noble deeds, and is the dear 
and trusted friend of both Arthur and Lancelot. 

583. Who had said this? 

592. " So fine " means here over-sensitive. It is perhaps said 
sarcastically. 

635. Why this remark? 

660. " Ramp," that is rampant ; a term used in heraldry, mean- 
ing standing upright on hind legs. The other common positions 
are dormant (sleeping), couchant (lying), saltant (leaping). 

661. Notice the irony in this line. 
675-678. " Honi soit qui mal y pense." 

684. Elaine does not even understand his innuendoes. 

685-700. Gawaine judges others by himself. 

728. Took the news so calmly as to disappoint the old busybody. 

769, 770. Alluding to what? 

794. Being cross with them, as we should say. 

798. His own distant kindred. 

836. The position of the " not " is archaic. 

871, 872. These are famous lines which should be remembered. 
Faith to the queen makes him unfaithful to the king. 

875. " The devil was sick, the devil a monk would be; 

The devil was well, the devil a monk was he." — Rabelais. 

885. " Ere her time," that is, before evening. 

889-893. Notice how many of Tennyson's similes are derived 
from a close acquaintance with birds. 

905. Animals for sacrifice v>'ere adorned with fiowers. 

923. That is, that I am alive is due to your care. 

939. " Quit," requite. 

953. Brittany. 



NOTES. 



213 



995- " Sallow-rifted glooms," that is, the darkening sky with the 
pale yellow light of sunset still lingering. 

1012. " Scaled," rose. 

1015. Such a phantom was called a banshee. Many tales of them 
are told. Compare with the story of the White Lady of the Hohen- 
zollerns. 

1041. Compare with her previous dream, line 210, above, 

1048. Compare with these lines from " The Lady of Shalott"; 

" But Lancelot mused a little space; 
He said, ' She hath a lovely face; 
God in his mercy lend her grace, 
The Lady of Shalott.' " 

1080. " Never yet was noble man but made ignoble talk." This 
should be remembered. 

1092. " Ghostly man," the usual expression for a priest in Malory. 

1 109. Malory has her say, "And while my body is hot let this 
letter be put in my right hand, and my hand bound fast with the 
letter until that I be cold." 

1 1 17. Notice the regularity of the meter in this line. 

1 128, 1 129. Notice the extreme brevity and simplicity of these 
lines. 

1129. " Dole," grief. 

1146-1154. Favorite subject in art. Rosenthal's picture is the 
best known, and good copies of it can be obtained. 

1 170. " Summer side," south. 

1 178. The cygnet or young swan has dark, sooty-brown plumage. 

1 183. What rumors were these? 

1207, 1208. Remember this expression. 

1219— 1221. This is a cutting paraphrase of his own words, 

1233. See lines 211-218. 

1243. Like the Old Man of the Mountain in the White Moun- 
tains. 

1250. See " The Coming of Arthur," line 420. 

1316. " Worship," honor. 

1319. Malory says that the " shrine " here mentioned was West- 
minster. 

1334. Malory says, " And so upon the morn she was interred 
richly, and Sir Lancelot offered her mass-penny, and all the knights 
of the Round Table that were there at the time offered with Sir 
Lancelot." 

1346. " Affiance," trust, confidence. 

1385. " Farewell too — now at last," see line 980, above. 

1418. See introduction on " The Passing of Arthur." 



214 NOTES. 

TOPICS FOR A WRITTEN REVIEW OF THE POEM. 

a. (See "The Coming of Arthur," page 29.) 

b. (See "The Coming of Arthur," page 29,) 

c. The dreams. 

d. Character sketches of 

1. Elaine. 

2. Guinevere. 

3. Lancelot. 

e. Is the fate of Elaine pathetic, tragic, or merely sentimental? Why? 

THE HOLY GRAIL. 

2. Sir Percivale. In the German version of the story by Wolfram von 
Eschenbach, 1205-15, utilized by Richard Wagner in his opera of Parsifal, 
this character becomes the chief hero and in a general way the attributes 
and adventures of Galahad are given to him. 

15. "Puflf'd . . . into smoke." The pollen of the yew-tree blossom is 
abundant. Lady Tennyson's Journal, April 1868: "There has been a great 
deal of smoke in the yew-trees this year. One day there was such a cloud 
that it seemed to be a fire in the shrubbery." 

21. "Pale." Enclosing wall of the monastery. 

38. "Green in Heaven's eyes." We are ahve, flourishing, in a spiritual 
sense; but we molder, we are dead, to the world. 

46. "The cup." Grail is derived from the Greek word crater, a cup. In 
this cup Joseph of Arimathea is said to have caught the blood of the Savior 
on the cross. 

48. "Aromat." From Arimathea, a town in Palestine, home of the 
Joseph of the legend. Tennyson invents a spelhng suggestive of the gums 
and spices of the East. 

49. "Day of darkness." The day of the Crucifixion. Matthew xxvii, 
50-60. Mt. Moriah is a hill in Jerusalem on which Solomon's temple once 
stood. 

52. "Winter thorn." Joseph of Arimathea brought a rod from Palestine, 
using it as a staff. He planted it at Glastonbury: it sprouted and grew, and 
became the "winter thorn," "mindful of our Lord." 

61. "Arviragus." Shakespeare uses this mythical prince as one of the 
sons of King Cymbeline. 

67. "To-day." In our day. 

73. This Hne is a parenthesis. 

78. "Scandal of the Court." The loves of Lancelot and Guinevere. 

91. "He." See line 85 above. 

100. Percivale's sister gave a bowl of her blood to save a sick lady, and 
died of the voluntary hemorrhage. 

144. "Son of Lancelot." See introduction to "Lancelot and Elaine." 

162. "Spiritual city." The New Jerusalem, the heavenly city. Rev- 
elations xxi, 10 et seq. 

172. "Siege Perilous." Siege means a seat. See note on 17, "The Com- 
ing of Arthur." 

189. "Luminous cloud." The Grail is concealed, except to the pure in 
heart, by a cloud, or a cloth of "white samite " or " red samite." The appear- 
ance of the Grail in the hall is an image of the divine call to salvation. 



NOTES. 215 

209, "Crying on." Crying for. 

218. "Under Camelot." The town was built on a hill. 
228. "Dim rich city." These words suggest the lines'in Milton's "II 
Penseroso": 

"And storied windows richly dight, 
Casting a dim reUgious light." 

248. " Twelve great windows." Twelve is a magic number in many myth- 
ologies. 

263. "Golden dragon." Arthur's emblem. See note on 422, "Lancelot 
and Elaine." 

264. "Hold." The bandits' cavern, 207. 

287. "Wilderness." "What went ye out into the wilderness to see?" 
Matthew xi, 7. 

289. "ShriUing." A favorite verb with Tennyson. 

290. "I . . . saw the Holy Grail." Here Tennyson departs widely from 
the original. It was the very object of the Quest to see the Grail: that is 
the achievement. It was because Galahad had not seen it that he took the 
vow with the others. See 281-2. 

297. "To maim." That will dismember. 

298. "Follow . .' . bell." The figure is that of a flock of sheep stupidly 
following the bellwether. 

300. "Taliessin," etc. The King says in effect: "This vision may come 
to such pure and noble characters as you, Galahad, or Percivale. But it is 
the height of foolishness for the others to fancy that what is possible for you 
is also possible for them. They cannot sing like Taliessin nor fight like 
Lancelot, however much they may aspire to do so. Yet are they good and 
loyal knights and their work is needed here and now." 

310. "Sudden heads of violence." Insurrections, riots. 

312. "White Horse." See note on 297, "Lancelot and Elaine." 

318. "Chance . . . unchallenged." The cry for justice offered the chance 
for the knight to give his service. 

319. "Wandering fires." Will-o'-the-wisps: used metaphorically. 

350. "Wyvern," A winged dragon with a barbed tail. The heraldic 
creatures mentioned were the sculptured gargoyles, or ornamental water- 
spouts, "at all the corners of the building." 

355. "Middle street." Malory has Guinevere retire to her chamber to 
hide her grief at parting from Lancelot. 

358. "The three Queens." See note on 275, "The Coming of Arthur." 

381. "Crisping." Curling. 

390. Note effective repetition in lines 376, 390, 400, 419, 420, etc., as 
previously in 328 and 338. 

444. "Phantoms." These phantom temptations of Percivale have been 
thus interpreted by Van Dyke: The orchard of pleasant fruits, 38o-|-5, 
symbolizes the temptations of the Appetites; the scene of the wornan spin- 
ning, 391-6, is Domestic Love; Wealth is symbolized in the knight in jewels, 
402-14; and Fame, in the city with shouts of welcome and applause, 421-6. 

453. "Gray-hair'd wisdom of the east." The Magi, the wise men from 
the East. Matthew ii, i et seq. 

462. "Sacring." Celebrating mass. This word Tennyson takes from 
Malory. 

489-539. This picture of Galahad's translation is one of the most inspired 



2l6 NOTES. 

passages in the poem. Stopford Brooke says of it that it "is done as no one 
has done this kind of work since Dante." 

509. "Shoutings," etc. "When the morning stars sang together and all 
the sons of God shouted for joy?" Job xxxviii, 7. 

521. "Redder than any rose." Compare 118 above. 

527. "Gateways." "And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every 
several gate was of one pearl." Revelations xxi, 21. 

545. This line is a parenthesis. 

558. "Market-cross." A cross set up in a market place, often an important 
monument in European cities. 

561. The preceding twenty lines are a long digression presenting a pleas- 
ing picture of the simple human life of the monk. 

612. "Yule is cold." Every poor peasant has his warm fire at Christmas, 
though he must be content to shiver later. 

623. "Want." Lack. 

646. "Former madness." A reference to a portion of the Morte Darthur 
telling how Lancelot went insane because Guinevere was angry with him 
for his stay with Elaine, Galahad's mother. He was cured of the madness 
by the Holy Grail. 

647. "Scandal." In old times disgrace was connected with insanity, as 
it was regarded as a servitude to the devil. 

648. "Lancelot's kith and kin." Compare 200 above. 

661. "Paynim." Pagan. "Circles." The upright stones left by the 
Druids, as at Stonehenge. 

667. "He." The sun. 

681. "Seven clear stars." The constellation of Ursa Major or the Dipper. 
This description of the passing of the Grail across the little gap between 
stones is remarkably beautiful. 

697. "SirBors." See 40 above. 

714. "Heaps of ruin." The bits of stone are splintered from statues and 
gargoyles thrown down by the fierce gale (726 below). The unicorn, a horse 
with a horn growing from its forehead; the basilisk, a serpent whose look 
killed; the cockatrice, similar to the basilisk, but winged, legged, and crested 
like a cock; and the talbot, a hound, were all fabulous creatures used in 
heraldry and sculpture. 

718. "Dais-throne." Canopied throne. 

727. "Devices." See 714-16 above. 

730. "Golden wing." Compare 242 above. 

745. Compare Dante's " Inferno," Canto V, where the spirits of lovers 
are incessantly blown about by winds. The story of Paolo and Francesca 
da Rimini is in this canto. 

747. What impression has been given of Gawaine's character? 

759. "Him of Cana." "Every man at the beginning doth set forth good 
wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast 
kept the good wine until now." John ii, 10. 

769. "Sin." His love for Guinevere. 

786. Significance of this? 

810. "Carbonek." This name is found only in Malory. 

830. "As a lark." The lark mounts and sings, so high that he cannot be 
seen though his song is heard. 

"Hark! Hark! the lark at Heaven's gate sings." — Shakespeare's Cymhcline. 



NOTES. 217 

862. "Blue-eyed cat." "Deaf as a blue-eyed cat," or "deaf as a white 
cat" are English proverbs. Darwin in his "Origin of Species" accepts the 
basis of the proverb as generally correct. 

864. "Ecstacies." States of exaltation in which they see visions. 

874-5. Even inspiration must take the mold of our human minds and 
talents. 

898. "Crown him." See 161 and 482. 

912. "He feels he cannot die." Intimation of immortality. 

908-15. The unreaUty of the seen, the reality of the unseen. See introduc- 
tion to this Idyll. 

GUINEVERE. 

2. Almesbury is in Wiltshire. The ruins of the abbey church are still 
standing. The nunnery is of very ancient foundation, and was one of the 
richest in England. It was broken up in the time of Henry VIII. 

15. "Lords of the White Horse." See "Lancelot and Elaine," 297. 

16. Hengist and Horsa were the Saxon chiefs who came to England first, 
450 A. D. 

22. See "The Coming of Arthur," 460. Of what color were the plumes? 

36. "Prince" because son of Lot and Bellicent of Orkney. 

56. An old superstition. 

64. "The Powers that tend the soul," the pangs of conscience. The death 
that cannot die is perhaps the everlasting punishment after death. See 
Mark ix, 48. 

73. Alluding to the superstition that blood spilt in a murder can never 
be washed away from the floor or walls of a house. 

75. Interpret the dream. 

119. Sanctuary was a sacred place which afforded protection from arrest. 
The peculiar atrocity of the murder of Becket was that it was committed in 
a church, a place where even a criminal was supposed to be safe. 

126. "Weald," wold, wood. 

129. "Too late" for what? 

132. The raven was the favorite bird of Odin, the Norse god of war. It 
was supposed to scent coming death. 

146. "For housel or for shrift," taking the sacrament of the Lord's Supper 
and receiving absolution from the priest. 

147. "Communed" is accented on the first syllable, as in Shakespeare. 
165. The parable of the wise and foolish virgins is in Matthew xxv. 
179. "Her thought" — what thought? 

243. The "strong man-breasted things" were perhaps mermen. 

249. "Spirits," elves or fairies. 

254. The fairies were supposed to dance in circles. Where their light feet 
touched the earth, the grass became fresher and greener, forming fairy-rings. 
These were really due to the growth of an underground fungus which spread 
in a circle. 

288. Bude and Bos were districts in Cornwall. The following is an extract 
from Tennyson's journal, written during a tour in Cornwall : 

"Tuesday, May 30. — Arrived at Bude in the dark. Asked girl the way 
to the sea; she opens the back door. I go out, and in a moment go sheer 
down, upward of six feet, over wall on fangled cobbles." 

Before Tennyson went to Cornwall, he had wished to make a lonely so- 
journ at Bude. " I hear," he said, "that there are larger waves there than on 



2i8 NOTES. 

any other part of the British coast; and must go thither and be alone with 
God." 

332, 333. Remember these Hnes. 

337. "Disloyal" may be contrasted with "loyal" in 333. 

343. That is, failed to Hve up to his noble intentions. 

347-350. The novice could as soon believe that the Queen could have man- 
ners like the lady she speaks to, as believe Lancelot's as noble as the King's. 

355. That is, "Never again pretend to be an innocent maiden." 

366. "Fearful," full of fear. 

381. Accent "retinue" on the second syllable, as in Shakespeare. 

396. "Well," spring. 

423. "The craft of kindred" refers to the treachery of Modred. 

428. See "Lancelot and Elaine," 286-300. 

457. "Errant," so called because they vowed to wander for a certain 
period in search of adventures. 

484. Tristram was married to Isolt of Brittany (of the White Hands), but 
fell in love with Isolt la Belle, wife of Mark, King of Cornwall. He carries 
her away, but Mark finally kills him. The story is told in "The Last Tour- 
nament," the Idyll preceding "Guinevere." 

499. "Camelot." See "Lancelot and Elaine," 23. " Usk " is the same as 
Caerleon. 

In September, 1856, Tennyson was at Caerleon during a tour in Wales 
and writes, "The Usk murmurs by the windows, and I sit like King Arthur 
in Caerleon. This is a most quiet, half-ruined village of about 1,500 inhab- 
itants, with a little museum of Roman tomb-stones and other things." 

525, 526. Notice the art of Tennyson in inserting these lines at this point. 

533, 534. Alluding to what? See introduction to the Idyll. 

572. Alluding to the prophecies that he should "not die, but pass, again 
to come." 

578, 579. Ruskin admired these linies especially. He also says, "I am not 
sure but I feel the art and finish in these poems a little more than I Uke to 
feel it." 

584-594. Here is an exceedingly pictorial passage. 

603. Is the inserted simile natural? 

610. A critic has remarked that it was the kind of mercy to choke. 

618-620, Observe the dreary desolation in these lines. 

641. She had said, "The low sun makes the color." 

654. This is a good line to remember. 

658. Answering her unspoken prayer for forgiveness. 

676. "Dole," alms. 

678. "Haler," sounder, in spirit. 

681. "Voluptuous day," a time of careless pleasure. 

684. The keynote is struck once again. 

691. "The pathetic gentleness of the cadence in the last line is as ex- 
quisite as that in Milton's finest verse: 

'And I shall shortly be with them that rest.'" — Littledale. 

THE PASSING OF ARTHUR. 

2. Bedivere was "the first of all his knights knighted by Arthur." All 
through this poem, its symmetry with "The Coming of Arthur" should 
be carefully noted. 



NOTES. 219 

13. "For why," archaism for wherefore. This poem is the most archaic 
in diction of all the Idylls. 

31, 32. The fickleness and instability in Gawain's character are indicated 
well by having his ghost blown on the wind. 

35. "The island-valley of Avilion." 

41. What effect does the break so early in the line have? 

53, 54. Many high places in Great Britain are named in honor of him; for 
instance Arthur's Seat, near Edinburgh, and Arthur's Stone on a hill in 
Wales. 

72. This line should be remembered. 

81. "Lyonnesse," see "Lancelot and Elaine," 35. This battle is some- 
times located in Brittany. 

87. The faint and misty horizon line where sky and sea meet. 

90. Midwinter. 

92. Why have the battle in this exact location? 

96. Compare the description of this battle with the one in "The Coming 
of Arthur," 95-99. 

108-110. Onomatopoetic lines. 

114-117. We have here a wild and confused picture, like some of Dore's 
battle scenes. 

1 18-135. Note the weird, ghostly quality of all this description, seen even 
in the figures of speech used. Tennyson has succeeded excellently in im- 
parting to the poem the effect of weirdness which is so striking a character- 
istic of Celtic literature. 

130, 131. The tide is coming in. Note the swaying of the lines, 

135. The ocean is here used as the symbol of eternity. 

147-153. Here speaks the loyal stanch English heart, faithful not only 
unto death, but beyond it. Sir Bedivere is an admirable character, well 
portrayed in our minds from his actions and words without any distinct 
description of him. He is the solid, distinct figure in the poem; all the rest 
is misty, doubtful, uncertain. 

154. "My house," my kindred, referring to his nephew Modred. 

170-440. These lines were published in 1842 under the title of "Morte 
d'Arthur." 

180. Note the artistic effect of this vagueness of expression. Why used? 
Would it have been more effective to have no moon? 

197-201. See note on "The Coming of Arthur," 285. 

205. Excalibur is Arthur's comrade in battle, hence here personified. 

206. "Lightly," quickly. 

216, 217. Notice the musical quality of these lines. 

228. See Virgil's "^neid," iv, 285. "Atque animum nunc hue celerem, 
nunc dividit illuc." 

233. Observe how this line suggests the slow, heavy tread of Sir Bedivere. 

238, 239. "Lines so steeped in the loneliness of mountain tarns that I 
never stand in solitude beside their waters but I hear the verses in my 
heart." — Brooke. 

248. "Lief," loved. 

252. " Fix'd in thought." The first time he had merely felt; now he reasons 
out to himself why he does not throw it, a natural advance. He is now 
justifying himself to himself. 

300. Malory says, "I shall slay thee with mine own hands." 

301-304. No reflection this time. 



220 NOTES. 

307. The aurora borealis. Tennyson has literally translated the words. 

308. "Moving isles of winter," icebergs. 

310. "And never yet in poetry did any sword flung in the air flash so 
superbly." — Brooke. 

338. The eyes in a picture seem sometimes to follow one. 

340. Silence was more pathetic than words could have been for his blunt 
and simple nature. 

345. Is the simile appropriate here? 

350. The mist of his breath surrounds him like a garment. 

353. "His own thought drove him like a goad." Why? 

354-360. "We hear all the changes on the vowel a — every sound of it 
used to give the impression — and then in a moment the verse runs into 
breadth, smoothness, and vastness; for Bedivere comes to the shore and sees 
the great water: 

'And on a sudden, lo! the level lake, 
And the long glories of the winter moon,' 

in which the vowel o in its changes is used as the vowel a has been used be- 
fore." — Brooke. 

370, 371. Utter loneliness from all time to all time. Or would it have been 
more impressive to have had one man there, as in Tennyson's "Palace of 
Art," 63? 

383. Cuisses are parts of the harness or armor for the thighs. 

388. An instance of Tennyson's occasional over-elaboration of language. 

401. Or three Wise Men from the East. 

403. The world was then supposed to be a flat disc. 

409, 410. " Goodness, growing to a pleurisy, dies in his own too-much." — 
Hamlet, iv, 7. 

427. Malory has Arthur say, "For I will into the vale of Avilion, to heal 
me of my grievous wound." The place is not localized at all. Elsewhere he 
speaks of the island of Avilion, meaning the peninsula made by the river 
Brue on which Glastonbury was situated. That place was anciently called 
the Isle of Avilion or of Apples. 

434-436. It is a very ancient superstition, frequently alluded to in lit- 
erature, that just before its death the swan sings a song of most ravishing 
sweetness. 

440. The earher version called "Morte d'Arthur" ends with this line. 

Stedman says: "The poem weakens at the close. The epic properly ends 
with the line 440. The poet's sense of proportion here works injuriously, 
urging him to bring out fully the moral of his allegory, albeit the effect really 
is harmed by this addition of the sequel." What is your opinion regarding 
this? 

445. Here again, with enough dimness not to jar on us, the allegory steals 
back. 



ECLECTIC ENGLISH CLASSICS 

Addison's Sir Roger de Coverley Papers (Underwood) 
Arnold's Sohrab and Rustum (Tanner) 
Banyan's Pilgrim's Progress (Jones and Arnold) 
Burke's Conciliation with America (Clark) 

Speeches at Bristol (Bergin) 
Bums's Poems — Selections (Venable) 
Byron's Childe Harold (Canto IV), Prisoner of Chillon, Ma- 

zeppa, and other Selections (Venable) 
Carlyle's Essay on Burns (Miller) 
Chaucer's Prologue and Knighte's Tale (Van Dyke) 
Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Garrigues) 
Cooper's Pilot (Watrous) 

The Spy (Barnes) 
Defoe's History of the Plague in London (Syle) 

Robinson Crusoe (Stephens) 
De Quincey's Revolt of the Tartars 

Dickens's Christmas Carol and Cricket on the Hearth (Wan- 
namaker) 

Tale of Two Cities (Pearce) 
Dryden's Palamon and Arcite (Bates) 
Eliot's Silas Marner (McKitrick) 
Emerson's American Scholar, Self-Reliance, Compensation 

(Smith) 
Franklin's Autobiography (Reid) 
Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield (Hansen) 

Deserted Village (See Gray's Elegy) 
Gray's Elegy in a Country Churchyard, and Goldsmith's De- 
serted Village (Van Dyke) 
Hughes's Tom Brown's School Days (Gosling). 
Irving's Sketch Book — Selections (St. John) 

Tales of a Traveler (Rutland) 
Lincoln's Addresses and Letters (Moores) 

Address at Cooper Union (See Macaulay's Speeches on 
Copyright) 
Macaulay's Essay on Addison (Matthews) 

Essay on Milton (Mead) 



(S.95) 



ECLECTIC ENGLISH CLASSICS 



Macaulay's Essays on Lord Clive and Warren Hastings 
(Holmes) 
Lays of Ancient Rome and other Poems (Atkinson) 
Life of Johnson (Lucas) 

Speeches on Copyright, and Lincoln's Address at Cooper 
Union (Pittenger) 

Milton's L'Allegro, II Penseroso, Comus, Lycidas (Buck) 

Paradise Lost. Books I and II (Stephens) 
Old Ballads (Morton). In preparation. 
Old Testament Narratives (Baldwin) 
Poe's Selected Poems and Tales (Stott) 
Pope's Homer's Iliad. Books I, VI, XXIT, and XXIV 

Rape of the Lock and Essay on Man (Van Dyke) 
Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies (Rounds) 
Scott's Abbot 

Ivanhoe (Schreiber) 

Lady of the Lake (Bacon) 

Marmion (Coblentz) 

Quentin Durward (Norris) 

Woodstock 
Shakespeare's As You Like It (North) 

Hamlet (Shower) 

Henry V (Law) 

Julius Caesar (Baker) 

Macbeth (Livengood) 

Merchant of Venice (Blakely) 

Midsummer Night's Dream (Haney) 

The Tempest (Barley). 

Twelfth Night (Weld) 
Southey's Life of Nelson 

Stevenson's Inland Voyage and Travels with a Donkey 
(Armstrong) 

Treasure Island (Fairley) 
Swift's Gulliver's Travels (Gaston) 
Tennyson's Idylls of the King — Selections (Willard) 

Princess (Shryock) 
Thackeray's Henry Esmond (Bissell) 
Washington's Farewell Address, and Webster's First Bunker 

Hill Oration (Lewis) 
Webster's Bunker Hill Orations (See also Washington's 

Farewell Address) 
Wordsworth's Poems — Selections (Venable) 

(S.96a) 






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